Legends of the Shadow Realm
by YamiRuss
Summary: Part II of *The Duelist's Spirit*. The shadows descend upon Duel Academy as the god cards begin claiming souls. What will happen to Bryan and the other Guardians? Original characters
1. Budding in the Snow

_A quick note: I recommend reading "Duel Academy" first, but it is not necessary. Character introduction and development are primarily what you'll be missing without it. This arc is more exciting and plot-driven._

Chapter 1: Budding in the Snow

After only three weeks away from school, Bryan and Matt already missed the place. It hadn't changed since they left, but they certainly had. After jointly winning the Limitation Duel Monsters Tournament and using a small portion of their winnings on new cards, they both upgraded their decks to accommodate new strategies. Now they both felt even stronger than before.

"How's it going?" a soft voice asked when Matt got to his room and started unpacking.

He turned to see Kasumi standing in the doorway. Whether because he thoroughly missed her over the last month or because Kas looked absolutely stunning in her blue sweater, Matt dropped his stuff in place to go greet her more physically.

"I'm so glad to see you," he said, giving her a big hug.

"Apparently," she said, a little stunned by his reaction. Sure, he agreed to go out with her, but he never showed this much interest before. And aside from the few, ten-minute phone calls they shared, he hardly even tried to contact her, leading to her hesitation. "Were you that lonely over Christmas?"

"I had Bryan, but he doesn't smell as great as you do."

She laughed and finally returned the hug. "Well, it's nice to see you, too. I probably don't need to ask this question, but how'd the Limitations Tournament go?"

"We won."

"We? I thought tournaments usually end in a single victor."

"For whatever reason, the last duel was a Tag Match between the tournament's organizer, and Bryan and me. Bro and I have no problem sharing the honor, so we didn't really argue it."

"That's noble of you," she joked, "splitting the fame that goes with winning an international tournament."

"If it's with Bryan, I don't mind," he answered, reminding her that Bryan was practically his brother. "But that's enough about me. How are you doing, gorgeous?"

She chuckled at the nickname and blushed brightly. "I'm great. I spent Christmas with my family, including my older brother who's a professional duelist."

"Oh, yeah? That's cool."

"He says I'm stronger now. He thinks I could be in the Blue Mansion next year."

Matt smiled at her and said, "I'll bet you will. What else did you do?"

"Well…" She gently placed her hand around Matt's. "I missed you just a little bit." She hoped being coy would intrigue him. She was right.

Matt packed lightly, so he spent much of the day helping others in the dorm move stuff into their rooms, and helped some of them move furniture around. He wasn't quite as strong and useful as Bryan, but he was capable of bunking a pair of beds with little help.

Actually, Matt got a new roommate for this semester. Darius Mantzios, a twenty-four-year-old freshman, was promoted to be a Red Dorm, boys' floor prefect because the position was empty since Bryan left to become a Guardian Dueler. Darius's final exam scores during the previous presented him as a duelist strong enough to be a prefect; his own roommate dropped out of the Academy over the winter break, and so the administration decided to put him and Matt together.

Darius hardly spoke a word, making him a rather odd choice as an advisor to other freshmen. He wasn't silent to be intimidating, but because he was raised to believe that one without something important to say shouldn't speak—a concept Matt sometimes had difficulty comprehending. He was of Greek descent, complete with an olive complexion and silky, black hair. He was fairly tall and of a decent build, the result of genetics and being an active baseball player as a kid and joining an intramural football team on campus. He rather enjoyed playing the game and actually met both Matt and Bryan during a heartbreaking loss of 28-27, but he held no grudges, and in fact, he looked forward to joining his friends again for an intramural softball team during this spring semester. He wasn't especially fond of the slower pace of softball after getting used to the rigorous, almost cutthroat baseball games he used to have with kids in the neighborhood, but he did like the fact that he was a lot less likely to break his nose a second time with this much higher level of civility.

As was their custom, the Duel Academy kitchen staff prepared a feast to celebrate the return of the students. Matt invited his new roommate to join him in eating with the Guard Trio and friends, but Darius respectfully turned him down and joined his group of intramural sports friends from the previous semester, much to Kasumi's dismay; she playfully tried to make Matt jealous by letting him know how hot his new roommate was. The theme of the feast was spicy foods to counter the cold weather outside. They even had one table few dared to approach.

"How can you eat that?" Cary asked Bryan. "It burns my nose all the way over here."

"I'm not as shocked that he can eat it as the fact that he's on his fifth serving," Andy laughed.

"What can I say?" Bryan asked. "I have high metabolism and a leftover can of Febreze."

"Lucky for us," Dave poked. Lucy added to his point a heavily sarcastic comment about how lucky she was to meet him.

In the middle of dinner, Dr. West made the announcements regarding events over the break. Among the many announcements, David Strickland was offered positions with no fewer than six professional dueling clans effective the moment he graduates. Andrew Yoon was offered positions by two of the same dueling clans plus two more. Justin Nussbaum was offered a job working for Kaiba Corp. Gaming as a tech analyst. And of course, Bryan Knight and Matt Luther were joint champions of the Gathas Limitation Duel Monsters Tournament.

"What did you guys win?" Justin asked Bryan and Matt.

"A lot of money," Bryan answered. "And that big trophy sitting in the main lobby of the administration building. Plus we both got brand new Duel Disks courtesy of the owner of the owner of the Denkard hotel and casino."

Matt proceeded to explain their theory about the tournament invitation. "We think Leona Moxley invited us because, as students, we were such major underdogs that she and some investors could clean up gambling on us."

"Isn't that illegal?" Andy asked.

Bryan shrugged. "Probably. But it's not like they inflated the odds against us or rigged the duels. We were legitimate underdogs who happened to be good enough to win the tournament."

"Well, I didn't exactly sit at home and twiddle my thumbs all through Christmas," Cary commented, eager to make herself known. "I've been practicing. I think I can beat you guys now."

"You realize we won that tournament against a lot of rich, internationally renowned duelists, right?" Matt confirmed. "I didn't gloss over that or slur my words, did I?" Cary glared back and Kas smacked Matt on the arm for being so heavily sardonic.

"I think Cary's good enough to take one of the god cards," Kas posited. Cary thanked her for the vote of confidence.

Lucy asked, "You're not thinking of coming after me again, are you?"

Cary shook her head. "Don't worry. I don't want one of them now. With you guys out of the way and Matt ineligible this semester, I'm going to make sure I get to be in the spring School Duel. I'll come after a god card at the end of the semester when four of you guys graduate."

"That's actually a really good strategy," Justin told her. "And because we don't have to worry about you making us move out, you can pick our brains all you want and get some training in how to use the god cards." Andy and Dave just smiled, knowing that Justin only wanted to spend more time with Cary.

"You're going to join us in the Guardian house, right?" Bryan asked his sworn brother.

Dave spoke up first. "No, he's going to wait until the end of the semester, just like Cary." He motioned toward the OTK badge on Matt's jacket and said, "He's going to spend some time as a one-turn duelist for a while. If he quits now, he doesn't get to put his membership on his resume."

Matt grinned and nodded. "That's true, plus I really don't want to kick any of you out of the house, anyway. I could probably take Lucy if I really wanted to, but then she and Bryan would both be all upset with me…"

Lucy made a face and said, "Plus, you only beat Elijah. You and I haven't dueled yet. You don't know that you can beat me." And she honestly believed she was still better than he was despite his track record. He just grinned in reply.

"What kind of stuff do you do as an OTK guy?" Lakisha asked.

"Give him a day, at least," Bryan commented, referring to the fact that Matt hasn't been a member of Team OTK for a day on campus yet—just the last day of a semester and the evening before the first day of the new semester.

"We're going on a camping trip soon," Matt described. "This weekend, I think. Supposed to be a fun way to force us to spend time together and get to know one another."

"How many people are on the team?" Lakisha asked. Matt told her the team had six members, plus him. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

"That sounds cold," Kasumi countered. "Sleeping outside in the snow? No, thanks."

"We use sleeping bags," Matt explained defensively. "Plus, I was going to ask if you'd come with me. I think you would be a nice choice to share a sleeping bag."

Kasumi blushed, still new to the fact that she and Matt were becoming a couple. "I don't think so. It'll be way too cold for me, and we haven't been on a real date yet."

Jess laughed and pointed out, "I think he's only asking you to sleep with him in the purely literal sense of the word. The idea is that sharing a sleeping bag conserves body heat. My cousins and I used to do that all the time when we went camping."

Kas was still convinced that sleeping in the snow would leave her colder than she could handle.

"That's fine," Matt said. "I'm not going to force you to go."

"I thought you two would be doing all kinds of stuff only one of you wants to do just to be together, like watch football or go shopping," Lakisha commented.

Matt grinned and motioned in the direction of Bryan and Lucy, who were practically sharing a seat. "We're not yet to their level, the one where you spend an hour every night on the phone even amidst an international duel tournament."

"I had to check up on him," Lucy joked. "You know how Bryan can be when surrounded by beautiful, exotic women. Or even women with pulses." Bryan acted as if he was offended by that comment, but nobody bought it; given his behavior when he first met Cary, Erica, and Kas, Lucy's caution was well founded and Bryan accepted it. He had no intention of cheating on her, but he was fond of the saying, "Being on a diet doesn't prevent you from looking at the dessert menu."

Andy took the conversation back to spoils everyone got for Christmas, almost everyone getting lots of new cards, some getting new computer equipment, lots of clothes, and even some sports memorabilia.

That evening, as they got ready for bed and classes the next morning, Cary brought up the camping subject with Kasumi again. She wanted to convince Kasumi to go so she wouldn't sabotage her own relationship before it even started.

"I get so cold," Kas told her. "I have thin skin without a lot of fat, and camping means not moving around. That's the only reason I don't want to go."

"That's fair," Cary replied. "Do you mind if I go?"

This certainly caught Kas's attention. She felt like her throat closed and her heart stopped beating, right before it started beating way too quickly. Did she really just hear her roommate—her best friend—say she wanted to spend the night with her new boyfriend?

Cary was quick to intercept any misinterpretations. "Matt's also worried about being really cold and I love camping; those are the only reasons he even asked me. I really don't think he's even slightly interested in me, and I know I'm not interested in him."

Kas tried to say she didn't mind, but her eyes told a completely contradictory story.

Cary suggested, "Why not just go with him? I know you're worried about the cold, but just go anyway. It really is a lot of fun, plus you get to use a cute guy to stay warm. And don't forget, a large part of dating is doing stuff you don't necessarily want to do just so you can be with each other. Go camping with Matt, and later you can force him to watch chick flicks or go shopping with you."

Kasumi considered the idea all week. Then late Friday evening, she found herself in the woods wrapped in three sweaters and a heavy coat, bearing close to a bonfire and overlooking a lake as it reflected the moonlight across its calm surface. She listened as Matt told the members of Team OTK about the tournament—how he won a round with a two-turn Dark Magician move—and about his new deck. He was looking forward to the opportunity to show off the cards he got with a portion of his tournament winnings. He put in two more OTK strategies and potential for more given the right circumstances.

In a quick demonstration duel Matt had against one of his teammates, he demonstrated one of his new strategies. Laura set a monster and a card, but Matt already had a strategy set up. He played One for One and discarded Catapult Turtle from his hand to summon Magical Scientist (1/300/300) from his deck, then he played Monster Reborn to revive Catapult Turtle (5/1000/2000). He proceeded to pay 7000 LP for Magical Scientist's effect, bringing to the field three copies of Aqua Dragon (6/2250/1900), two copies of Sanwitch (6/2100/1800), and two copies of Dark Flare Knight (6/2200/800). Using Catapult Turtle's effect, Matt offered each fusion monster as Tributes to inflict half the AP as damage against Laura. When that ended, he further offered up Catapult Turtle itself to end the duel. Matt 8000: Laura 8000 – 1125 – 1125 – 1125 – 1050 – 1050 – 1100 – 1100 – 500 = 0.

Haruki Yagawa, currently the senior leader of Team OTK and skilled user of the Judgment Dragon OTK, was looking for someone to take the lead of the team's Duel Academy division upon his graduation and enrollment in the professional dueling league. The second-ranked member of the team, his girlfriend Miyu Kino, was also a senior ready to graduate and move into the professional leagues. Miyu's specialty was the Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth, which she used to swarm the field with fish she could tune into bigger monsters.

Fusayo Yamakawa, a junior, was probably third in Haruki's eyes. Fusayo's strategy was to summon the Ritual monster called Demise, King of Armageddon to destroy all the opponent's cards and then swarm the field with big monsters to finish the opponent in one turn. Fusayo was a talented duelist and a fairly intelligent guy, but he was much too sycophantic to be a leader. He was always sucking up to Haruki to curry favors; even though it worked, Haruki still saw Fusayo as a follower. Brad Nguyen wasn't much better; he was just as much a suck-up, but because his talent fell a bit short of Fusayo's, the two were always at odds with one another when it came to group dynamics. They got along fine when the situation called for teamwork, but that wasn't good enough for a team leader. Brad's strategy centered on the trap called All-Out Attacks, using Ojama Trio to make sure the opponent has weak monsters that are forced to attack Brad's bigger, earth-based monsters.

Laura Gertin was a strict, by-the-rules kind of person, which wasn't always a bad thing, but her constant reminders of school and team policy and her tattling on anyone and everyone who violated a rule in even the slightest way made her incredibly annoying; Miyu could barely stand her, and Haruki would probably have little contact with her if she weren't such a great duelist; Laura's deck focused on Rescue Cat and its ability to summon multiple beasts from the deck straight to the field. There was one rule she had no problem violating, however; she had a thing for Desmond Vele, a sophomore whose OTK centered on multiple Batteryman AA to gain attack points, and was caught by his roommate one time in the boys' room late at night when Desmond was a freshman. That these two didn't seem to notice their hypocrisy was reason enough for Haruki not to leave them in charge.

That left Matt as his first choice for the time being, and Kasumi was already starting to see that. Matt made a lot of jokes and had a tendency toward childish behaviors, but he could be as serious as anyone when it mattered, and he was very clearly talented and adaptive.

When he was finished helping with the firewood, Matt sat down next to Kasumi and put his arm around her shoulder. She was still shivering despite her layers, and so she drew closer as soon as Matt touched her.

"You look like you're having fun," she said with what little smile she could muster.

"I am," replied. "These folks are pretty cool." He watched her shiver. "You look really cold." He put both hands on her arms and started rubbing vigorously to warm her up.

"I can't even feel that," she told him. She turned her head to look him in the eyes for a moment. He was really cute and she loved the attention he was giving her, but it was almost not worth it to be surrounded by snow for a full night. "I'm really starting to hate you."

He just laughed. "That's too bad," he said as his smile softened, "because I'm really starting to like you." He leaned forward and touched his forehead to her hat. She didn't move away, so he touched his nose to hers. Suddenly Kasumi felt her face warm up as she started to blush again.

Matt placed his hand on the side of her head and said, "Maybe you'll feel this." He pulled her close and kissed her. With the ensuing endorphins in flow, Kas felt warm again for the first time all night.

* * *

A short and sweet start to Part II. This should be a gentle recap of the main characters so far and an introduction to Matt's new roommate Darius, thanks to tiramisu19. I apologize for the short duel, but that's what happens with a first-turn-kill strategy. Don't expect to see too many more of those; when the duel is so short, it makes it seem unimportant. That happens to be the case in this chapter (I almost didn't even include that much), but in general, I want the duels to curry a little more focus than that.

During this arc, I plan to discuss the Shadow Realm not as it is described in the English anime but as more of a combination of the Japanese anime and my own creative influence (what fun is it to write a story if I don't add my own touch?). There will be plenty of action and background for the characters, and I'll even reveal the cards held by many of the faculty members as they help take on the shadow-infested god cards. I hope you enjoy the show! As always, I accept reader-submitted, original characters. I have this arc planned out pretty well, but your character may still make an appearance or two.

Next up: Don't Shoot the Messenger

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
__Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	2. Don't Shoot the Messenger

Chapter 2: Don't Shoot the Messenger

The alarm buzzed loudly at eight o'clock sharp. One hour to eat breakfast before heading to class. Just need to stop that incredible shrieking noise coming from the clock. Darius reached up to hit the "OFF" button to put and end to it, but his arm felt inordinately heavy. His shoulder could only move so far before he ran out of strength and something pulled tightly on his back.

"What the…?"

Darius looked to see his sleeve sewn to the bed sheets, which were caught around the end of the mattress. His gaze fell upon the bed on the opposite side of the room. Empty, which means Matt was already off to his morning workout.

He just shook his head as he slipped out of his pajamas and left them sewn to the bed for now. He would just have to train himself not to sleep so heavily.

----------

Two months went by, and spring finally started to show its face. Snow was long gone from the Academy, but the temperature outside was finally tolerable, and any two people walking to class no longer had to wear the same coat just to keep warm. But with the spring came increasing numbers of duels, and the approach of the Spring School Duel.

"There's a second one?" Matt asked when Dave mentioned it to him.

"Yes. Justin told you that last semester. It's the same basic premise, but this duel is against Hawkins University. They don't have the same reputation to their duel program as Godwin Academy has, but that doesn't mean their representative won't be a tough nut to crack."

"What does that have to do with me? I'm ineligible, right?"

Dave grinned. This was where he asked his young friend to be the bad guy for him and let Cary know that the faculty selected another student as a representative in her place. The headmaster at Hawkins didn't make the request to duel a freshman—or a 'first-year'—and so Dr. Lankford suggested the ranking member of Team Lockdown, Numbers Harper."

Matt was confused. "Numbers? His name is Numbers?"

"Don't look at me. _She's_ not my kid. But she's a great duelist and the highest ranked in the school who isn't a Guardian Dueler or hasn't already represented us in a School Duel. As much as I love my cousin and respect her dueling talent, she's still a freshman, and being in the Red Dorm is, pardon the pun, a red flag when it comes to representing the school."

Matt thought this was a ridiculous method of selection, but he understood the perspective. "I get it, dumb as it is. Freshmen, no matter how good, still have to prove themselves before anyone sees them as worth anything."

"Dr. West usually has a bet with the headmaster of the school involved in these competitions. The bet involves rare cards and money, and he's always eager to win—but quote me and I'll deny it under oath. Hawkins University has a particularly powerful duelist they are putting up for this duel."

"Is that so?" Matt asked. "But do I really have to be the one to tell Cary?"

Dave smiled. "I'll see it as a personal favor, and you're built better to take a beating when she gets violent."

Thusly went the conversation between Matt and Dr. West's teaching assistant at the end of Advanced Gameplay 132 one month before the school duel. Dave often taught the class in Dr. West's place both for the experience and to free up Dr. West's time to complete the ever-accumulating administrative work. Having read Matt's papers for the class, Dave knew that he could be eloquent and clear, a valued feature when telling Cary that she couldn't do something she'd been practicing to do for a long time.

"It was nice knowing you," was the last thing Matt said to Dave before he left.

Matt had two hours before his next class, and so he went back to the Red Dorm to meet Kasumi for lunch. When he got to Kasumi's room, she was trying to resolve a conflict between two of the females on the floor. He wasn't really sure what the problem was—something to the effect that one of them kept having friends come visit and it bothered the roommate. Kas finally managed to resolve the issue for the moment and the two girls left her room.

"I guess I'm lucky my roommate doesn't talk much," Matt commented.

"Hey," she said and greeted him with a hug. "Sorry. Some girls just have a hard time living together."

"I know," he replied, immediately thinking about the "girls inherently hate each other" hypothesis he and Bryan formulated. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"It's okay," she said. "I'm glad to see you. How was the meeting with Dave?"

He groaned and tried to suppress a laugh. "He wants me to be the buffer to break some bad news to your roommate."

"What kind of news is that?"

Matt debated whether to get Kasumi to help him break the news, but he decided he could be man enough to do it himself. But then he realized that breaking the news to both of them simultaneously could be really bad for him, even as the messenger; when two upset women are together, they tend to polarize one another's emotions.

"The faculty decided to go with someone else for the School Duel."

"Really? Who?"

"The leader of Team Lockdown. She's the ranking member of the Blue Mansion who hasn't already been in a School Duel." He looked sheepishly at Kas and asked, "Do you think she'll be upset?"

"Not if you tell her when she's asleep," Kas replied dryly. Then her mood went somewhere Matt didn't predict. "Was I even mentioned as a possibility?"

"What?"

Looking hurt, she explained, "Cary was obviously considered as a possible representative. Did anyone consider me? I mean, I'm a prefect, also; doesn't that give me any credibility?"

"Absolutely," Matt assured her. "I wasn't there so I can only speculate, but they probably didn't consider _any_ freshmen for even a minute; Dave was the only one who thought about Cary because he knows that she was looking forward to the School Duel. I don't think any of the faculty brought her up as a suggestion."

That explanation did little to make Kas feel any better. She was starting to feel convinced that no one really respected her as a duelist. Compared to her boyfriend, an officially undefeated freshman member of Team OTK who was just declared champion of an international tournament, she didn't even warrant an honorable mention. Coming in third best of a freshman class means very few people can even recognize her.

Cautiously, Matt asked, "Do you still want to grab some lunch? Food helps release endorphins, which make you feel better."

"What are you, a biologist now?"

"Well, I am taking a biology _class_. So come on. Let's get fed."

She smiled and said, "Okay. Just give me a minute to get ready." Matt recognized that as code for "I need to use the bathroom." He waited in the room until she came back, and the couple went to lunch before ending the day of classes.

As it goes, Cary took the disappointment better than Matt expected she would.

"Why aren't you shooting the messenger?" he asked in surprise.

"Because you're my best friend's boyfriend and she actually likes you," Cary replied, "plus I was prepared for this event. I'm smart enough to know that freshmen rarely get respect; you act as if I never dueled an upperclassman."

Matt was still surprised. "But complaining can help you get your way. People accommodate you just to shut you up. Complaining to _me_ doesn't directly change things, but maybe complaining to me gets me to complain higher up the chain just to get you off my back."

"Will it work?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, but I find it interesting that you didn't even consider the prospect."

"Maybe I'm more easygoing than you thought I was."

"I suppose so. You realize that makes me question your sanity?"

She laughed. "I'm okay with it. I think I'll just go back to the dorm and kick the cat, as it were."

Kasumi asked her, "What does that mean?"

Melanie Hedegaard sure learned what Cary meant by her words. Cary showed up at Melanie's room that evening in response to another roommate dispute. Still frustrated by being ignored and irritated with the fact that some women seem to see living peacefully with a roommate as an affront to their dignity, Cary challenged Melanie to a duel; she might have challenged Melanie's roommate if she had not stormed out of the room already.

"Why do I have to duel you?" Melanie asked defensively.

"If you can beat me, I'll rule in your favor and talk to Dr. Kerr on your behalf."

"And what if I lose?"

Cary sighed. "I'm giving you a break here. You and your roommate haven't stopped bickering since the semester began. Neither of you is technically breaking the rules, so this is your only chance to get me to say your roommate is in the wrong."

Even if Cary was exaggerating as a way to bait Melanie into a duel, the idea that her roommate might get punished was incentive enough for Melanie to accept the challenge. Rather than bother with an official duel, the two just cleared off a space on Melanie's desk and played their cards the same way as if they had designated spaces.

Cary took the first turn through rank, frustration, and standard shotgun rules; she was the first one to call priority.

"I'll start with Card Destruction; we discard our hands and draw new ones. Now I'll play Ancient Rules to summon Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry (8/2900/2000) without Tributes. Then I will Tribute this Simorgh to summon Simorgh, Bird of Divinity (7/2700/1000). I'll set two cards, and at the end of my turn, we both take 1000 LP damage; however, the damage is reduced by 500 for each card in the spell/trap zone." Cary 8000: Melanie 8000 – 1000 = 7000.

"That's hardly fair," Melanie whined. "I didn't even get my turn yet."

"That's how the effect works."

Now Melanie was a little annoyed—she felt like she was being picked on by Cary—but she continued, anyway.

"I'll summon Amazoness Swords Woman (4/1500/1600) and equip her with Mist Body, an Equip Spell that prevents my monster from being destroyed by battle. When Swords Woman battles, you take all the damage I would have taken."

"Good move," Cary said, "but I'll play my facedown Call of the Haunted to revive my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys (8/2400/1500)."

Melanie shook her head. "Amazoness Swords Woman (1500) still attacks Simorgh (2700)."

"I'll chain Malevolent Catastrophe. When you attack, this destroys all spells and traps on the field. Losing Call of the Haunted means I lose my Phoenix, but losing Mist Body means you will lose your Swords Woman after she attacks."

"You still take the difference," Melanie noted. "I'll set two cards and end my turn. Now _you_ take 1000 points of damage from Simorgh's effect." Cary 8000 – 1200 – 1000 = 5800: Melanie 7000.

"I can afford it," Cary noted. "In my Standby Phase, my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys (2400) is revived because she was destroyed by a card effect, and this kind of revival also destroys all spells and traps on the field. Now your field is completely empty and I have Simorgh (2700) and my Phoenix (2400) to attack directly. I can set one other card and end my turn." Cary 5800 – 500 = 5300: Melanie 7000 – 2700 – 2400 – 1000 = 900.

Melanie already looked like she resigned the duel, but one look at the card she drew gave her a little bit of fire to work with.

"I'll summon Amazoness Paladin (4/+1800/300) and equip her with Megamorph to double her original attack power. Amazoness Paladin (+3500) also gains 100 points for every Amazoness on the field, including herself. Now she's more than strong enough to destroy Simorgh (2700) and end that annoying effect."

"And the duel," Cary added. "I'll play Chthonian Blast; when you destroy one of my monsters, this destroys another one, specifically my Phoenix (2400) for having the fewest attack points. In addition to destroying my monster, Chthonian Blast inflicts damage to each of us equal to half my monster's attack points." Cary 5300 – 800 – 1200 = 3300: Melanie 900 – 1200 = 0.

Cary smiled as she collected her cards. That felt good, winning handily without ever losing control of the duel.

Melanie groaned harshly. "So now what?"

Having felt a bit of a catharsis, Cary's disposition softened tremendously. "I'll talk to Dr. Kerr about moving you to a new room. Will that help?"

Melanie didn't smile, but she liked the idea. But there are some people who just can't help complaining all the time. "Why should I move all my stuff? Make her move."

"It's easier to move you out if you're the one with the primary complaint," Cary informed her, "and I know a couple of guys who can very easily move your stuff for you. Just let Dr. Kerr make the decision."

When Cary got back to her room, Kas and Matt were sitting on Kasumi's bed watching TV. Kas looked up at her roommate and said, "You look happy."

Cary sat down in her computer chair and leaned back to watch TV with her friends for a while. But then she got a better idea.

"I want that rematch now."

"Who, me?" Matt asked. Cary nodded, and so Matt continued, "Why now?"

"I finally feel like shooting the messenger."

* * *

I apologize for the short, seemingly pointless chapter, but there was a little bit of important stuff in there, and this is the only time Cary gets to duel during this arc. I really like her, though, and so I had to squeeze her in somewhere before everything at the academy goes haywire. This chapter sets up the next one, the next chapter sets up the main plot of the arc, and the following chapter actually begins the conflict. My outline looks simple, but I get the feeling this will probably turn out to be a fairly hefty arc. I'll post the next chapter soon.

I'd also like to apologize for not speaking Greek, and therefore not having Darius's utterance in Greek despite his heritage. Instead of risking butchering the language, I figured I would have him utter one of the most common phrases in American English--one he likely would learn early through listening to people talk. I will probably continue to do so because of said personal language deficit, but just know that I am fully aware of the inconsistency with Darius's character.

Justin has developed a friendship with the Hawkins duel representative by virtue of them each being duel technicians for their respective schools. And when the duel commences between the Hawkins University representative and Duel Academy's sophomore leader of Team Lockdown, Justin is not surprised when his visiting friend puts together a lockdown of his own to improve his chances.  
Next up: The Hawkins Duel

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
__Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	3. The Hawkins Duel

Chapter 3: The Hawkins Duel

Darius climbed out of bed without difficulty when the alarm buzzed. Matt already left for the gym, meaning Darius had the room to himself. He went down the hall to the bathroom and came back to get ready for class. He pulled a pair of pants from his drawer and started to put them on. They felt much tighter than usual—uncomfortably so. He checked the tag to make sure, but these were marked as thirty-four-width pants. Why didn't they fit?

"I must be putting on weight."

----------

Bryan and Matt were among the student volunteers to help the visitors from Hawkins University get settled into the Medici Building for their two-day stay. The dean, a short man named Perica Zivec, was much friendlier than Dr. Spengler from Godwin. Dr. Zivec insisted on sitting with the students during dinner and hearing all about life on campus. He was only four and a half feet tall, but he was as smart and funny as anyone could be.

Dr. Zivec brought a number of students with him to visit, including Ulrich Schwartz, the Hawkins senior student representative. Ulrich was blond, fairly short and stout, and a bit of a computer nerd. In fact, he and Justin already knew one another by computer handles as a result of exchanging ideas and programs over the Internet. Owing to this friendship, Justin volunteered to show Ulrich and his friends around after dinner.

After a tour of campus—which was pretty much voluntarily confined to the computer labs and Justin's office at the tech center—everyone went back to the Guardian house for a get together, ending with a game of Texas Hold 'Em-with-Outrageous-Bets.

"Take that," Andy said as he flipped over his pocket cards. The community cards showed three aces, so Andy's hand of two fours complemented it nicely for a full house.

"Nice hand," Erica said as she folded; she had only a king kicker on the three aces.

"I got ya beat," Matt laughed. He flipped over his cards even more dramatically than Andy did. "Pocket ten to match the ten on the river! My full house is bigger than yours, aces full of tens." He laughed again and said, "Now I own Erica's left shoe and Cocky Balboa, Andy's racing cockroach."

"Ah, you got lucky," Andy replied.

"Funny how luck follows him for thirty consecutive hands, wouldn't you say?" Bryan commented, regarding an abnormally long winning streak for Matt in a game that revolves almost entirely around luck—especially when no one is actually collecting on bets.

"I'm wearing rabbit-skin underwear," was Matt's explanation. "It's not my fault I can bluff my way to victory."

"No, you can't," Andy argued. "In fact, you suck badly at bluffing. You just keep getting better hands than I do."

Ulrich made a puzzled expression in response to the light-hearted bickering and asked, "Do you guys do this all the time?"

"Pretty much," Justin replied, not referring to Poker specifically, but to the idea of bonding over games that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things and do little to help any of them in class or career.

The house was pretty full right then. On top of the six residents, Matt, Cary, and Kas visited from the Red Dorm, and Ulrich brought four friends along with him.

Arthur Farber, Ulrich's blond-haired best friend, asked for clarification of the relationship of everyone in the house. "You three are freshmen, right? How do you get close enough to hang out with a bunch of seniors all the time?"

Cary answered, "Actually, _he's_ a freshman, too," pointing to Bryan. "His best friend is the goofus who keeps winning other people's imaginary stuff." She pointed around the room as she continued talking. "Furthermore, I am Dave's cousin, which is my first excuse for hanging out here. My second excuse is that Justin and Erica are helping me practice to earn a spot as a Guardian at the end of the semester. Kasumi over there is my roommate and Matt's girlfriend; hence she comes to hang out with us."

"Are you two dating?" Ulrich asked her, including Justin in the question.

Cary shook her head and said, "No, we're just friends."

"Plus Dave would hurt me if I were to break her heart somehow," Justin joked. "And it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to start dating when we're only two and a half months from me graduating while she's still got three more years."

"Are you also training those two to take your places?" asked Christy Adler, a dark-haired friend of Ulrich's, with regard to Matt and Kasumi. Dave said they weren't. "Why not? Don't you want to help your friends get in here?"

Dave shrugged. "They didn't ask."

"I _am_ curious who else will move in when you guys all leave," Lucy said on the subject. "I really hope it's not someone insufferable."

Cary laughed and pointed out, "You're already dating Bryan; who could you possibly see as more insufferable than him?"

"I heard that," Bryan said as he shot her a wicked grin. Matt bumped his arm and made a face that said, "She's right." Bryan shrugged and said, "Yeah, okay. But at least I don't pull pranks on my roommate."

Dave started laughing. "I forgot about your new roommate. How's that going?"

"No problem so far, despite my best efforts," Matt replied. He described to the guests some of the pranks he pulled on his new roommate, yet none of them even got a rise out of Darius; Matt fully expected Darius to counterattack somehow, but that was a no-go. He was basically a rock, and he turned enough cheeks for the entire Red Dorm already.

"You really shouldn't pull pranks on him," Kas commented.

"I only started because he rarely talks and he never hangs out when I invite him along somewhere. He just spends time studying and talking to his friends. I only ever see him on the intramural fields. This is my way of communicating without words."

"You should see what he does to mimes," Bryan added as a joke.

Lucy told Kas, "It sounds like you should avoid using the silent treatment when you guys fight. Who knows what kind of pranks he'll pull just for you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kas agreed.

Julian Keene and Eden McCrea, tired of losing all their imaginary stuff to Matt and Andy, got up and stretched for a moment. After a quick look at the clock, they announced it was probably time to get some sleep.

"Maybe so," Dave agreed. "It is getting pretty late, and Ulrich here has a big duel tomorrow morning against a very talented sophomore."

"Oh, yeah," Julian said. "He's not dueling any of you guys. Who's he dueling again?"

"A young lady named Numbers Harper," Dave answered. "Make fun of her name if you want—you wouldn't be the first—but she is a first-rate duelist. I think Ulrich will have his work cut out for him tomorrow."

"You'll be fine," Justin assured him. "Come on. I'll walk you guys back to the Medici building."

"That's on our way," Cary commented, "so I guess we'll join you."

After saying their good-byes and "see you tomorrows," everyone who didn't live in the Guardian house, plus Justin as a guide, left to go to their own beds for the night. On the way, Justin and Ulrich discussed computer talk with Arthur; Christy asked Matt about having his best friends live in a different building.

"It sucks at times," Matt admitted. "I feel left out sometimes because they do things together without me, and I miss a lot of things from not being around, but I still go hang out every weekend when I'm not with Kas."

Eden commented, "I imagine Kasumi had something to do with you deciding not to leave the dormitory. She's quite beautiful, and you'd be foolish to put more distance between you."

Kas blushed when Matt looked at her, but being the goofball he was, he jokingly said, "Oh, yeah. Now I see it. Thanks for pointing that out to me." Kas hit him on the arm right before grabbing his hand and interlocking her fingers within his.

"You're probably just as well off," Julian said. "There are a lot of mysteries around the god cards. They're supposed to be capable of killing people."

Matt scoffed. "Through paper cuts, maybe. They're just cards. Powerful, one-of-a-kind cards, yes, but still just cards. I really doubt a bunch of students would be responsible for them if they were capable of that. There's no way Dr. Lankford or Ms. Kawamura would let a student have the cards if they were dangerous."

"I agree," Christy said. "All that stuff is just urban legend."

"And even if it weren't," Matt added, "Bryan is the strongest duelist in the group—no offense to Justin." Justin waved to acknowledge the comment and continued his computer talk with the others. "I really doubt a playing card has a bigger ego than Bryan."

Cary laughed. "Clever."

----------

Just as it was with Matt's duel, the duel arena was crowded with spectators and media coverage. Matt commented to his freshman crowd that it was quite different seeing the School Duel from the spectator seats. Justin joined Ulrich and his friends early to escort them to the arena and help Ulrich set up his Duel Disk on the stage. He was still responsible for making sure the duel went smoothly from a technology standpoint.

"I'll wish you luck," Justin told his techno-friend, "but I can't root for you. School spirit and all."

"Fair enough," Ulrich replied. "I'll have to win without your blessing, then."

The Duel Academy crowd went wild when Numbers Harper entered the stadium. Still a sophomore, Numbers was four-foot-nine, ninety pounds, and small enough to bronze and place on a mantel. Her hair was dyed red and she had a tattoo of an Asian character visible on her ankle. The white skirt on her blue uniform went all the way to her knees; instead of getting a custom-made uniform, she took the small size and adjusted the waist to fit her. Numbers never cared much for appearances; the only thing she cared about was being the best at what she did. She had a bit of a thick voice when she spoke, but it was still a high, soft voice.

Justin and the Guardians didn't tell Ulrich anything about the strategy employed by his young opponent, but they did let slip that she was a member of Team Lockdown. Although Lockdown strategies are wide and varied, knowing the opponent plans to stop him from playing cards gave Ulrich a few ideas for protective spells and traps to add.

Not everyone was thrilled by the upcoming duel.

"You should be the one up there dueling," Fusayo told Haruki. "You're much better and much more deserving of the honor." Haruki just smiled and said he already knew how Fusayo felt.

"That's not how it works," Desmond said. "The rules clearly state that no matter how talented a duelist may be or how high the stakes, no duelist may participate in the School Duel twice."

Not to be outdone, Brad eagerly said, "They should make an exception for Haruki. Or maybe for Miyu. Both of them are hands-down the best duelists around."

"Leave it alone," Miyu requested gently. "Haruki and I have each dueled already in a School Duel. This isn't even a Godwin duel, so let Numbers have her turn. I'm sure you'll have your chances to represent the school."

"It's not about that," Laura lied. "Allowing a sophomore to compete is clearly against school protocol. Upperclassmen are supposed to receive preferential treatment because they have limited time remaining on campus."

"You said the same thing when Matt was in the School Duel," Miyu pointed out.

Laura stammered a moment, finally saying, "At the time, that was the wrong decision. It just happened to work out."

Matt simply thought this whole conversation was amusing. It was like spending time with the Three Stooges except with fewer props. Their running commentary certainly made watching the duel amusing, though.

Dr. Lankford gave the audience an introduction to the duelists and the schools each attended, then turned over the focus to the duelists.

Numbers was granted the first turn. Following a handshake and a quick check that both Duel Disks were responding properly with the hologram projectors, she began the duel with a startlingly slow first turn.

"I'll set one monster and end my turn."

Ulrich was almost speechless; he just assumed that she would set traps left and right to stop him from playing any cards. That she didn't meant he got the wrong information about her, she had a really bad opening hand, or she was especially gifted in psychological dueling.

"I'll summon Mystic Tomato (4/1400/1100) and attack your monster."

"Marshmallon (3/300/500) isn't destroyed by battle, and you take 1000 points of damage for attacking it when it was facedown."

Ulrich considered his cards for a moment. "I'll set two cards." Numbers 8000: Ulrich 8000 – 1000 = 7000.

As soon as Numbers drew her card, Ulrich interrupted her turn with, "Drop Off forces you to discard the card you drew just now." Numbers simply shrugged as she tossed Dark Crusader into her card Graveyard.

"I'll summon Hyper Synchron (4/1600/800) and tune it to Marshmallon (3)."

Tuning is a special derivation of fusion. Generally a fusion requires combining specific monsters via Polymerization; contact fusion is a special fusion that requires combining specific monsters without Polymerization. Tuning goes one step further to combine any monsters into a Synchro monster as long as the combined level of the monsters is equal to the level of the Synchro monster and one of the monsters involved is a tuner-type.

In the case of Numbers's play, Hyper Synchron (4) is a tuner monster, and combining it with a level three monster like Marshmallon (3) allows her to summon a level seven Synchro monster.

"I'll summon Ancient Sacred Wyvern (7/+3100/2000). She gains points equal to the difference between our Life Points as long as my points are higher. She'll attack Mystic Tomato (1400)."

"When Mystic Tomato is destroyed by battle, I get to summon a low-strength dark monster; I choose Newdoria (4/1200/800)."

"I'll set a card." Numbers 8000: Ulrich 7000 – 1700 = 5300.

Ulrich immediately activated his Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Numbers's facedown card before she could try to use it against him. But now the Ancient Sacred Wyvern (+4800) grew even stronger. Very few monsters in the game could even match that attack power, yet Ulrich came up with a potential strategy.

"I'll summon Grave Squirmer (1/0/0) and set one more card."

Numbers saw through Ulrich's strategy immediately—both his monsters have the effect of destroying any monster on the field when in battle—but rather than avoid it, she decided to walk right into it; the worst thing that happens is she loses a monster.

"I'll summon Giant Germ (2/1000/100), and attack Grave Squirmer (0) with Ancient Sacred Wyvern (4800)."

"I'll send Grave Squirmer from the field and Doomcaliber Knight from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon Darkness Neosphere (10/4000/4000)."

A replay was triggered because the target of Numbers's attack was removed from the field. As a result, she retargeted her monster's attack toward Darkness Neosphere (4000); even if Ulrich's monster couldn't be destroyed by battle, she could still whittle away his Life Points bit by bit and continue to make her monster stronger the whole time.

"I'll play Gravity Bind," Ulrich countered. "Any monster level four or higher can't attack."

Numbers just shrugged, rather unfazed by the move. "I'll end my turn."

"I'll start my turn with Darkness Neosphere's effect," Ulrich said. "I can return all my face-up traps to my hand. That means Gravity Bind doesn't affect my monsters anymore. Now I can have Darkness Neosphere (4000) attack Giant Germ (1000)."

"You take 500 points of damage," Numbers explained, "and I get to summon two more Giant Germs (2/1000/100) to the field."

"But your Wyvern (-2600) loses attack points because the difference in our LP has shrunk significantly. I'll set a card and end my turn." Numbers 8000 – 3000 = 5000: Numbers 5300 – 500 = 4800.

Numbers laughed to herself because she was pretty sure what Ulrich's facedown card was.

"I'll send Ancient Sacred Wyvern (2600) to attack Newdoria (1200)."

"I'll activate Gravity Bind," Ulrich announced predictably. He chuckled and told Numbers, "It seems like I've found my own little lockdown strategy."

Her response was nothing more than a half-grin. "I'll switch my Giant Germs (100) to defense mode and set a card."

When Ulrich's turn started, he chanced upon a new card: "I'll play Ars Goetia; this powerful spell card lets me summon as many fiends as I can from my deck: three of my own Giant Germs (2/1000/100)."

A black book with a yellow circle encompassing four blue dots appeared on the field and opened to reveal a list of fiend-type monsters. When the Giant Germs appeared on the field, all the holograms began fading and the projectors began buzzing more loudly; usually they emitted nothing more than a low hum when working optimally. A sizzling sound preceded the lights flickering in the entire stadium for less than three seconds. The lights stayed on then, but buzzing from the projectors only faded slowly; as the buzzing quieted, the holograms appeared more stable.

Justin checked the system frantically, but he found nothing more than a very brief overload that caused a short in the circuitry; the system somehow corrected itself without needing to be shut down first. A brief hiatus was called while the tech guys spent ten minutes assuring the system was still functional and didn't have a bug. When they were satisfied with the condition of the system, Dr. Lankford apologized for the technical difficulties and allowed the duel to continue.

Ulrich shook his head as if to shake off the electrical problem. "Wild duel, huh?" Numbers just smiled and gave a single nod. "I'll end my turn here."

Numbers was curious why Ulrich didn't even attack during that turn. She had two incredibly weak monsters just ready to be attack, yet he ignored them. Maybe he forgot about them during the technical difficulties, or maybe he was up to something.

"I'll set a monster and attack with Ancient Sacred Wyvern (2600)." Predictably, Ulrich used Gravity Bind, and so Numbers set another card to end her turn.

Ulrich was pleased. He may be down on points, but now he was taking control of the duel. "I'll bring Gravity Bind back to my hand with Neosphere's effect. Now I'll Tribute Newdoria and Giant Germ to summon Darkness Destroyer (7/2300/1800), and I'll further remove the two Newdorias and Doomcaliber Knight from my Graveyard to summon Dark Necrofear (8/2200/2800). Now my Darkness Destroyer (2300) can attack and destroy your Giant Germs (100); Darkness Destroyer attacks twice per turn and deals piercing damage, too."

"I'll activate Spirit Barrier; with a monster on my field, I don't take Battle Damage, even piercing effects."

Ulrich acknowledged the play. "Your monsters are still gone, and Neosphere (4000) can attack your facedown monster."

"You destroyed Sangan," Numbers informed him. "That means I can move Cyber Valley to my hand."

"Enjoy. Dark Necrofear (2200) will now kill itself against your Ancient Sacred Wyvern (2600). I'll set a card, and when my turn comes to an end, Dark Necrofear revives from the Graveyard in order to possess your Ancient Sacred Wyvern (-1100) and bring it to my side of the field." Number 5000: Ulrich 4800 – 500 – 500 = 3800.

Numbers smiled, silently appreciating the strategy Ulrich set up. Ulrich was also pleased with it; he now had control of the field with Gravity and a slew of big monsters. After he cleared the field and took control of her strongest monster, Numbers would be wide open for a game-ending attack.

"This is where things stop going your way," she told Ulrich nonchalantly. "I'll play Premature Burial to revive Sangan (1000). Now I can remove from play my three Giant Germs and my Marshmallon from my Graveyard. Doing so lets me summon a monster more impressive than Dark Necrofear: Sky Scourge Norleras (8/2400/1500). Now when I pay 1000 Life Points, we both send all the cards on our fields and in our hands to the Graveyard."

"Geez," Ulrich groaned. "All that effort to steal your monster and you wipe the field clean."

"Yeah. I get to draw a card, too, and because Sangan went back to the Graveyard, I can take Yata-Garasu (2/200/100) from my deck to my hand and summon it. Because you have no monsters on the field, Yata (200) can attack directly." Because Yata-Garasu is a spirit monster, it went back to Numbers's hand at the end of the turn and left her field empty. Numbers 5000 – 800 – 1000 = 3200: Ulrich 3800 – 200 = 3600.

Now Ulrich knew the lockdown strategy that put Numbers at the top of the team. When Yata-Garasu hits an opponent's Life Points, the opponent has to skip his or her next Draw Phase. Without a hand, Ulrich had no plays to make; as long as Numbers continued to use her Normal summon on Yata-Garasu, she could keep Ulrich from drawing a single card until his Life Points were gone.

"I guess I lose, don't I?" Ulrich asked her.

She smiled. "Yeah. You kinda do."

Ulrich decided not to quit during a School Duel, however, and wanted Numbers to finish the duel with a flourish. She attacked directly with Yata-Garasu (200) three more times before she set and subsequently activated Return from the Different Dimension, which exchanged half her Life Points to summon all her removed-from-play monsters. One last mass direct attack ended the duel.

Dr. Zivec was the first one to the stage to congratulate both duelists on an excellent effort, especially to congratulate Numbers for being brilliant enough to defeat the champion duelist of Hawkins University.

----------

Justin went with the Hawkins students into town to the Kazuki Airport.

"I'm sorry you lost, but it was great hanging out," he told Ulrich.

Ulrich agreed, despite the loss. "It was. And thanks for the flash drive; I'll let you know if this program works on our system." He and Justin shook hands and he added, "Tell that Matt guy to keep in touch. I want to know if those pranks ever start getting to his roommate."

"You got it, dude."

Within an hour, the students were in the air again on their way back home to Hawkins. Even with a Sunday to help them get over the jetlag, most of them planned to skip classes on Monday.

Apparently Justin skipped more than class… His roommates never saw him come back to the house.

* * *

No one's sure what happened to Justin. Was he kidnapped? Did he run away? Was it an impromptu vacation to Hawkins University? As concerned as the faculty members are about Justin's safety, the other Guardian Duelers are worrying themselves sick. The mysterious appearance of a masked duelist marks the first of the god cards to be taken from campus. What more does this duelist have in store?  
Next up: The Vanishing God Cards

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
__Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	4. The Vanishing God Cards

Chapter 4: The Vanishing God Cards

A week passed and no one heard from Justin. He didn't respond to messages on his PDA, nor could the signal even be tracked. Either he turned his PDA off or it was broken. The Kazuki Police Department issued alerts on the news and checked all flights and shipments to and from the island during the week, but nothing suggested Justin ever left town.

"I haven't seen him," Ulrich said when Andy tried calling him. "He never went past the ticket counter at the airport, so he definitely wasn't on our plane."

"I just thought it was worth checking," Andy told him with an exhausted sigh.

"He's really been missing for a week? He sounded like he was really happy there. I can't imagine he ran away. I mean, he's got a job at Kaiba Corp lined up after graduation; he can't be stressed about leaving school."

"You're right. Thanks, man. I'll keep you posted on our progress." Ulrich wished him luck and hung up.

Andy looked around the room. Bryan was splayed on the couch with Lucy's sleeping head in his lap. They were both out all night trying to find some kind of sign, but all they found was Professor Baker, who told them to go home and let the police worry about the search party. Bryan was still awake, but his body posture made him appear as a dog in the summertime. Erica, already dressed for bed, stood by the window longingly. She had distinct bags under her eyes from worrying constantly, and that same worry was the only thing keeping her upright. Pretty exhausted himself, Andy sat down on the love seat and yawned widely enough to swallow a baseball.

Bryan started to talk, but draping his head over the back of the couch resulted in him nearly choking on his own Adam's apple. He coughed a few times, awakening Lucy, and rubbed his face vigorously to restore blood flow.

"This sucks," he moaned. "How does a person just vanish like that?"

"People don't vanish," Erica replied. "It's physically impossible."

Andy sighed. "I hate to say it, but it looks more and more like Justin was kidnapped."

Lucy sat up and added, "He's here somewhere. We'll find him. He'll be fine, and then we can all finally get a full night's sleep."

"I have been getting a full night's sleep," Bryan argued, "but it doesn't help when you're so worried about a friend. I still wake up exhausted."

"We should probably just do what the police said and leave the searching to them," Andy suggested with another yawn. "We're not helping ourselves by pushing so hard. We still have classes and other responsibilities to complete."

After some effort, Andy managed to get to his feet. He approached Erica by the window and placed his hand on his shoulder. She turned slowly and dropped her head to his chest; he wrapped his arms around her to comfort her as she shed a few more tears for Justin's safety. Erica was getting more and more emotional lately, a side effect of her extensive worry.

"Let's get some sleep," Andy suggested and offered to take Erica up the stairs to her room. She struggled a bit, but with Andy lending support, she got to her room. Andy went back to his bed and fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

Bryan and Lucy managed to stay up a little while longer; they wanted to wait for Dave to get back from his late meeting at the administration building.

"Who would possibly want to kidnap Justin?" Lucy wondered aloud. "He's harmless. He's just a smart, nerdy, sweet guy. What could he have done to warrant a kidnapping?"

"I don't know," was all Bryan could say. The police checked Kazuki crime reports, but there were no murders or major crimes reported on the day he disappeared, making it unlikely he witnessed a crime and was killed to prevent eyewitness testimony. There were no ransom demands, making it less likely someone wanted money. It was still possible someone wanted his god card, but why abduct only Justin if god cards were the goal? And as deduced even before Andy's discussion with Ulrich, there was no evidence of Justin leaving the island; his stuff was all in his room except for his deck and the clothes he wore the day he disappeared.

"We'll find him," Bryan assured her. It was hard to convince himself, though. The fact that no body was found might normally suggest Justin was still alive, but he could easily be lost to the ocean by now. A kidnapping without a ransom demand also suggested he was dead. And the rule of thumb has always been to lower your expectations after forty-eight hours. The probability of finding Justin alive now was infinitesimal, but it was easier for Bryan to ignore probability and simply believe that everything would work out in the end.

----------

Dave was at the administration building in a late meeting with Dr. West and the other faculty members, minus adjunct faculty. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the mental and emotional state of the student body in light of Justin's abduction. A number of students were unaffected because they saw no connection between Justin and themselves, some students worried and feared more that a _student_ was kidnapped than Justin specifically, and many of the students who knew Justin—especially those who were close to him—already began grieving as they would a lost family member.

Dr. Kerr was able to give some insights and suggestions for getting the students through this hard time, but her training was in social trends and group thinking, not in counseling. As such, she requested Dr. West find a school counselor or someone who specializes in grief counseling to come talk to the students. Baker, Maya, and Dr. Lankford deferred to Sasha's expertise and supported her request. Dave made notes for Dr. West to find a counselor first thing in the morning.

It was right about that point in the meeting the lights went off throughout the entire building. The room was dark for eight seconds, just long enough for everyone to obtain a certain level of panic before the lights blinked back on. More noise ensued…that is, until the faculty saw an extra body standing by the window. His body was entirely clothed in black, from the tunic to the hooded cloak, plus large sunglasses intended to hide his eyes, although the shadows hid his face pretty well anyway. He even wore a black, Battle City Duel Disk on his arm.

"Who are you?" Dr. West asked.

"I go by the name Alpha," the masked duelist announced in a mechanically-altered voice; it sounded especially deep and thick as if artificially deepened by some kind of voice filter. "I came to warn that your students are about to face a new challenge worse than any yet experienced. Then all of you will experience a fate not unlike a living death. The shadows descend. Just know that you brought this fate down upon your students."

With that, the lights went off again for another six seconds. The moonlight from the window granted minimal light, but enough to see the silhouettes of the faculty members. When the lights came back on, the masked duelist was gone. He didn't make a single noise coming or going, and so the faculty was clueless what to make of the situation.

"Who was that?" Maya demanded angrily.

Baker called campus police and looked around the window and the door. He announced that he saw evidence of a break-in and no trail the man could have taken to escape, plus he didn't see what happened in the dark, but he and the police would investigate more and search the campus.

Dr. Apple suggested, "It may be some sort of prank, albeit a well executed one."

"What did he mean 'the shadows descend?" Dr. Kerr wondered.

"I think the bigger question," Dr. West pointed out, "is: Who is he after? Students upon whom we brought down judgment? What does that mean?"

"Maybe the prefects of each dorm," Baker said. "Or it could be any of the students. We grade and judge them every day. Perhaps he meant Elijah or the students over the years who got expelled."

"More likely," Dave suggested, "I think he means the Guardian Duelers."

Maya gasped in shock. "You think he's targeting you?"

Dave explained, "The only students you did anything to was give us the gods to protect. And 'the shadows descend' might refer to the legends of the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm," Dr. Lankford repeated. "A world of darkness that feeds upon a person's spirit and preys upon his or her weakness. It's nothing more than a legend. Cards cannot possibly hold their own consciousness."

"Perhaps you are correct," Dr. West replied. "But Dave could be right that whether the Shadow Realm is real or imagined, Justin may have been abducted for his god card. I can't imagine what happened to him after that."

"We should assume the worst on the chance it was not an empty threat," Maya said. "The other Guardians should be warned."

"What if they aren't the targets?" Dr. Kerr interjected. "Justin's disappearance may be completely coincidental. We still need to make sure the other students are safe and cognizant of the fact they may be targeted. We don't know for sure what this Alpha guy is after."

"Good point," Dr. West said. "We should all be careful and on the lookout. I'll also contact local authorities and see about bolstering our own public safety forces. Let us merely hope we will not have to close the school. If more students disappear, that is the next logical step."

----------

Mitch Zielinski and Karla Braswell numbered among the most carefree students on the island. They studied and got good grades in their classes, but what they were most interested in was one another. Why shoot for the highest win percentage or the greatest number of wins when duelists like Haruki Yagawa could finish duels in a single turn? And why worry about other people when they had one another? As long as they were together, it was like all the people and rules disappeared and time itself held still.

This thought process explains why Mitch and Karla were running hand-in-hand back to the Yellow Dorm at fifteen minutes to midnight. When they emerged from the woods and the Yellow Dorm was in sight, they were stopped abruptly by a cloaked duelist with an active Academy Duel Disk on his arm. He wasn't particularly tall or large, but the cloak made him seem remarkably menacing. Karla couldn't help screaming when first saw him, but Mitch only reacted with a start before he started accusing his roommate of pulling a prank on them.

"I was going to be back before the curfew," he said as he started walking past the cloaked body.

But the instant he stepped within twenty feet of the cloaked man, he felt overcome by a sudden, heavy air around him. It was like being pulled to the ground by some unseen force. The sensation made Mitch feel nauseous and drove Karla to vomit.

"Duel me," the masked duelist demanded. His voice was altered by a visible device on his collar, connected by a wire to a filter on his belt.

"What?" Mitch couldn't comprehend the question. Suddenly the heavy air let up. When Mitch started to feel normal again, the masked duelist repeated his request. "Why? We need to get back to the Dorm before we get caught."

"Duel me now!" the masked duelist demanded, loudly and accompanied by an even more intense wave of heavy air. This time Mitch fell to his knees and Karla passed out completely. Mitch managed to grunt his acceptance of the duel, prompting an end to the heavy air again. He lightly touched Karla's face and checked her out to make sure she was okay, then climbed to his feet and pulled his deck from his belt case.

"This wasn't a Duel Disk outing," he told the masked duelist, hoping not to get hit with more heavy air. The duelist responded only by turning his head toward a nearby duel terminal intended for use by those without Duel Disks. The two guys sat down and Mitch entered his Academy ID code. They didn't bother to shuffle one another's decks before beginning the duel.

"I'll set a monster and one card," Mitch said cautiously.

The masked duelist—we'll call him Alpha—simply summoned a single monster: Dark Resonator (3/1300/300). He attacked Mitch's monster.

"Spirit Reaper (3/300/200) is not destroyed by battle. Try again." Alpha set a card and ended his turn there.

Mitch started, "I'll play Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two. Then I'll set another monster and one more card."

Alpha was silent the whole time, but he almost gave an audible scoff. He input the commands for Dark Resonator (1300) to attack Mitch's facedown monster.

"My monster is Morphing Jar (2/700/600); when he's flipped, we both discard our hands and draw five new cards. But before that happens, I'm going to activate my Call of the Haunted to revive Protector of the Sanctuary (4/1100/1900), and that prevents you from drawing any cards outside of your Draw Phase. That means I get a fresh hand and you get no hand."

Alpha didn't respond verbally, but a grin did appear across his mouth, which was barely visible in the moonlight.

Suddenly Alpha's field filled with three monsters: Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World (5/2300/1400); Sillva, Warlord of Dark World (5/2300/1400); and Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World (4/1600/1300). Mitch nearly fell over from surprise when he saw them. In turn, they activated their effects: Goldd destroyed Spirit Reaper and Mitch's facedown card. Sillva sent two cards from Mitch's hand to the bottom of the deck. Broww—discarded but not summoned—allowed Alpha to draw two cards.

Still in his Battle Phase, Alpha sent his monsters to continue the attack. Beiige (1600) destroyed Protector of the Sanctuary (1100), then Goldd (2300) and Sillva (2300) each landed direct attacks.

But that didn't end the duel. Alpha's true trump card came next: the facedown card he laid the previous turn. Ultimate Offering allowed him to pay 500 LP in order to summon a monster from his hand; he sent three of his fiend-type monsters to the Graveyard to summon Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (10/4000/4000). Raviel was as big as the field and as opaque and detailed as if it were an action figure. Mitch felt like the duel terminal ran a little hot just from having Raviel on the field.

Still yet in the Battle Phase, Raviel attacked Mitch directly. Mitch 8000 – 500 – 2300 – 2300 – 4000 = 0: Alpha 8000 – 500 = 7500.

Mitch was disappointed in his loss, but at least he met Alpha's request and still had four minutes to sprint back to the dorm. As soon as he tried to sit up, however, he felt his entire body lock at the joints; he couldn't move. His vision blurred and dimmed next; he couldn't see. His nerve impulses slowed and his body went numb; he couldn't feel. His ear canals swelled and closed; he couldn't hear. Mitch's body continued functioning, but he lost the ability to interpret external stimuli. He was as good as dead and completely without an explanation.

Alpha left Mitch and Karla lying on the grass. She was already in the same condition as Mitch, a side effect of being within the range of Alpha's power and Raviel's reach during the duel.

* * *

It seems someone else is in control of Justin's god card. What happened to Mitch, and what will happen to the rest of the students? The campus police department investigates the scene and the campus with hopes of finding and containing the source of this sudden illness that befell Mitch and Karla before it spreads to more students.  
Next up: Investigation Turns Up Magic


	5. Investigation Turns Up Magic

Chapter 5: Investigation Turns Up Magic

Darius climbed out of bed without difficulty when the alarm buzzed. Matt already left for the gym, meaning Darius had the room to himself yet again. He went down the hall to the bathroom and came back to get ready for class. He pulled a pair of pants from his drawer and started to put them on. It felt like wearing a balloon. He could almost fit another person within the waistband. The tag indicated a thirty-four-inch waist and the pants still had a small, white line where Darius marked them as a check. Why didn't they fit?

"So much for the diet…"

----------

Sgt. Roger Baker was a good cop; you don't get to be sergeant otherwise. He was a people person, and he had a way of getting people to relax when he spoke to them, frequently getting them to talk more easily or contribute information they might not otherwise say. His gift produced a high clearance and conviction rate as he worked his way up the chain. He passed his detective exam with a score of ninety-two.

Sgt. Baker's name-making case regarded fraud charges against a popular, rich, good-looking, professional duelist. Sgt. Baker discovered a key piece of evidence that the duelist was guilty not only of fraud but of child pornography. The case instantly became the big news piece for weeks with Sgt. Baker as the focal point as he provided the key piece of evidence undeniable by the defense, enough for the jury to send even a rich duelist to prison for life.

Just before being promoted to lieutenant, Sgt. Baker was offered a position at Kaiba Corp's Duel Academy; they desired a skilled detective who could contribute to the training of the campus police force. He accepted the offer after receiving a visit from the Kaiba Corp CEO and earning a week at the CEO's ranch. Kaiba Corp offered much better benefits than city police departments could and Sgt. Baker had a wife and two daughters to consider. His family agreed to move to Kazuki, where Sgt. Baker quickly showed that his intuition that made him a good detective could be transferred into dueling talent.

After less than a year in Kazuki, his supervisor suggested he put in an application for the position of adjunct professor that was opening up the following semester. He was far and away the best candidate Kaiba Corp had. Ten years later, he was a tenured professor, one of the first to do so without a Ph.D. or even a degree in a dueling-related field. He maintained his status as a private detective, however, and was put on retainer for Kaiba Corp.

That's why the campus police didn't question Roger Baker's presence at the crime scene outside the Yellow Dorm. It was not uncommon for Baker to be on scene first at the location of a campus crime.

Mitch Zielinski and Karla Braswell were found unconscious on the ground outside the dormitory. They were alive and showed no signs of physical abuse, but Dr. Ashley Nagell, the campus's medical doctor, claimed the students were worse off than they appeared. Their symptoms included dehydration, some kidney failure, lack of reflexive response, and, more noticeably, they were comatose. She was still running tests to figure out if there was any biological basis for their condition. In the meantime, Baker was trying to figure out what happened _before_ they lost consciousness.

Baker was sure the location they were found was the crime scene; Mitch's cards were still piled on a nearby duel terminal when some students on their way to breakfast spotted Mitch and Karla. That clearly suggested he was involved in a duel, but what happened? Obviously he wasn't mugged for his cards; a lack of bruising ruled out that possibility, plus his roommate confirmed that the deck wasn't missing any cards. It didn't seem like he and Karla were poisoned in any way because they lacked visible puncture wounds, but Baker would know more about that possibility when the toxicology reports came back.

"Sgt. Baker," called Michael Potter, a very young campus officer with a fair build. He was a former football player, still fairly green to police work, but he was level-headed and knew the law backward and forward. He often accompanied Baker in hopes of picking up tips on how to be a good detective and maybe pass the detective exam himself one day.

"We've got the records you requested," Potter said. "This duel terminal was accessed last night at 2348 by Mitchell Zielinski and someone with an unknown Duelist ID number."

"Unknown?" Baker repeated. He took the log from Potter and looked it over. Sure enough, the duelist logged in opposite Mitchell Zielinski had no name, no birthday, no residence, and no dueling record.

"How does someone duel without an Academy ID?" Potter asked. "I didn't realize it was possible to bypass the ID and activate a terminal."

"That is exactly the question we want answered," Baker told him. "We need to talk to somebody at the technical center. They're the ones who will know how to do it."

"Are they suspects?"

Baker huffed. "Not yet. Let's see what they have to say, first."

Baker continued looking around the duel terminal for any kind of clue. The lab guys tried dusting for fingerprints, but that proved to be as futile as dusting for prints on a water fountain; everyone touches it and smears their prints when they do. The next question to answer was which direction Mitch came from to this terminal. He finally started to think it impossible; footprints didn't last in the grass much longer than they would in sand, and the low rainfall meant Mitch and Karla didn't even step in mud on their way.

"Did the other officers find anything in their perimeter search?"

Potter spent a minute contacting the other officers on the radio and waited for them to check in. He relayed their responses to Baker; they found some beer cans and various other signs of activity in the woods, but nothing to prove Mitch and Karla were there. Collecting and testing every piece of litter in the woods would take too much time and money, and it's not like the students were dead—just ill.

Even so, Baker told them through Potter, "Collect any biological fluids you find. Blood, vomit, semen… Maybe we'll get lucky and find something significant."

When Potter finished relaying that message, Baker told him, "Request a transcript for this duel. I want to know exactly what cards were played by this mystery duelist. Maybe that can help point us to an identity."

Baker considered quietly the possibility that Mitch dueled against this cloaked "Alpha" character who snuck into the administration building last night, but what would he want with Mitch? The others seemed pretty sure Alpha wanted the god cards, so why go after a duelist from the Yellow Dorm with only a moderate win rate and few rare cards?

"Maybe his cards will tell me something about him…"

Baker pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed Capt. Frank Rader, currently the man in charge of the campus police department. He was a sergeant when Baker first came to the island, and even though Baker left the force to teach, Rader still considered him a peer.

"Hey, Sarge," Rader said when he picked up the phone. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm on my way over to the tech center to talk to whoever's in charge. Any chance you can get me that name?"

"Sure thing. I think I'll join you."

"Great. I need one more thing, though. Could you get someone to find Andy Matsuura's number and send it to my PDA? He's a senior Guardian Dueler."

"Matsuura," Rader repeated. "I'll get someone on it."

"Thanks, Frank. I'll see you at the tech center."

As soon as he hung up the phone, he looked to Potter and asked, "What was that transmission you just got?"

Potter relayed, "Spart thinks she figured out what the kids do in the woods at night and where they do it. She found blankets and towels and a few related items."

"Okay. Go meet up with her and bag it all. On the chance that our mystery duelist had nothing to do with Mitch and Karla, we'll want to check out their equipment. Send it to the lab and put a rush on it. I'm going to meet the captain."

Baker rarely drove across campus because it really wasn't necessary. The whole campus took maybe twenty minutes to walk from one end to the opposite, and that's at a saunter. At a jauntier pace, the trip was an easy ten or so minutes. Rader's cruiser was already outside when Baker arrived at the tech center, but Rader waited for his partner before entering.

"The guy we want is Percival Horning," Rader said. "He's an MIT grad who worked as military intelligence for a short time to pay off his student loans before he was hired by Kaiba Corp to basically run the island's entire hologram system."

"Great. Let's go see what Mr. Horning has to say."

Perry Horning was not terribly impressive to look at. He had his white hair impeccably cut short to frame his rather square face. His expression was rarely one of joy; he was the kind of guy who had a wealth of knowledge and no desire to share it except through condescension.

"What can I do for you, Officer?" Perry asked without standing or breaking eye contact with his computer. Baker gave an amused grin, but Rader decided he didn't like the attitude.

"Mr. Horning, a crime may have been committed last night before or after a duel outside the Yellow Dorm. We need you to tell us anything you can about this ID number."

He handed Horning a copy of the report from the relevant duel terminal. Horning stared at it for approximately two seconds before handing it back and saying, "It's a malfunction. The terminal must have shorted and lost the identification of the duelist."

"Then why didn't it happen to both duelists?" Baker asked.

"You can't predict what information a computer will lose during a malfunction."

Rader wasn't satisfied with that answer. He placed his hand over Perry's keyboard to stop him from ignoring them. Perry finally looked up at him with a frustrated look, only to back down from Rader's angry look.

"Why don't you find out if there was a malfunction in that terminal last night instead of assuming it?" His voice was surprisingly calm for his level of disgust.

Perry sighed and said, "Fine." He clacked away at the keyboard for a moment and came back with, "There was no disruption in the system last night."

"Then give me another explanation for the mystery code."

Perry shrugged. "It doesn't take a lot of creativity to set up an account in the system, and even less if the ID number is just going to be a bunch of zeroes."

"Who has the ability to do that?" Baker asked.

"Just me," Perry replied. "Should I get myself a lawyer?"

Rader smiled. "We're just talking."

Baker brought up another issue. "We'd like to see a transcript of that duel. Can you print that out for us?"

"We don't store transcripts here. Only the Kaiba Corp mainframe database can store that much information in one place. To get it, you'll have to talk to whoever's on duty at Kaiba Corp's data library. He'll probably want an official request form signed by the headmaster or the Kaiba Corp CEO."

Baker picked the phone receiver from Perry's desk and held it in front of him. Perry let out an exasperated sigh, grabbed the phone, and started dialing. He waited a few moments for someone to pick up at the other end.

"This is Perry Horning, the lead technician at Duel Academy. I need a transcript from one of our duel terminals." He paused. "Yeah, okay." He held his hand over the receiver and explained to the two officers, "He's being snarky. He says he's got eight hundred tickets that take a higher priority than a transcript from an Academy duel."

Rader motioned toward himself with two fingers; Perry got the hint and handed over the phone.

"This is Captain Frank Rader of the Duel Academy Police Department. Who am I speaking with?" He spoke with a loud, strong voice.

The voice on the other end was very soft and hesitant. "John Hou, sir."

"Mr. Hou," Rader repeated. "I would appreciate it if you would find a transcript for me. I will make sure the official request gets sent to you, but I need that information right now."

Still hesitant, John said, "It's just a duel. I've got other—"

"Two of my students are comatose and one is missing," Rader said with a booming voice as he interrupted John's complaint. "The duelist left no identifying information, so the cards he played may be the only way for us to identify him. Now, give me the transcript."

Rader provided him with the terminal number and the time of the duel. John panicked and took almost twice as long to find the transcript as he normally would have. When he finally got it, Rader put him on speaker phone while he described the duel. He thanked John for his cooperation and hung up, then told Perry to make sure John got the official request for the transcript. Baker and Rader left the tech center and returned to the cruiser.

"Dark World monsters and Raviel," Baker noted. "Then the two cases are connected. Whoever kidnapped Justin took his god card and built a deck full of fiends to summon it."

"Does that help narrow it down?" Rader asked.

"Not by itself," Baker said. He checked his PDA and found Andy's number that the dispatcher sent to him. "Let me confirm something." He dialed Andy's number to ask him what kind of deck Justin ran; he was pretty sure that Justin's entire deck was taken—not just Raviel—but he wanted to be sure. Unfortunately, Andy never answered.

Dr. Nagell ended up with another patient just after the sun set. Andy suffered blunt force trauma to the back of his head, causing a concussion and some lacerations to his scalp. All in all, the injury wasn't terrible, especially when considering that other students were falling comatose. Andy was just going to be out for a little while until the pain killers Dr. Nagell gave him wore off.

Baker was frustrated by the scene. Andy was attacked inside the Guardian house—his blood stained the carpet—apparently with the lamp that lay broken on the floor, a weapon of convenience that implied a lack of premeditation. The lamp yielded a few prints, but they didn't have any matches in the system, which meant they could easily belong to the residents of the Guardian house; the students don't all get printed when they enroll at Duel Academy. Even if they did, Baker would find the prints matched the students because Alpha wore gloves when he crashed the faculty meeting and ever since.

The only other clue was two open notebooks on the coffee table.

By the time Andy awoke a day later, Dr. Nagell received the toxicology reports on Mitch and Karla from the blood lab in Kazuki. Their blood came back negative for alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and a number of tranquilizing drugs, indicating none of those chemicals were present in their systems. This only raised more questions about what could cause two otherwise healthy students to go comatose all of a sudden.

Andy was confused at first to his current location, and with good reason. His condition was similar to Mitch's without the coma; he was dehydrated and exhausted, as if his body was failing to produce an adequate supply of cellular energy that allows the body to function.

"Where am I?" he mumbled.

"You're at the health center," Dr. Nagell answered. "Do you remember me, Andy?"

Andy blinked a few times to clear his vision before gazing upon the short woman with blonde hair that was almost as white as her lab coat. She wore so much white her blue eyes seemed that much bluer.

"Dr. Nagell," Andy answered. He tried to sit up, but he just felt dizzy from the throbbing pain in his head. He fell back and almost let himself pass right back out.

"Don't try to move," Dr. Nagell told him. "You were hit in the head with a lamp. You're okay, but you've got two stitches back there."

"That must be why it feels like I've got staples in my head."

She said it was. "Do you remember what happened before you were hit?"

Andy was silent for a moment and Dr. Nagell thought he was asleep with his eyes open. Finally he said, "Erica and I were studying. She's been so worried about Justin that she's been having trouble sleeping and she'd been drifting off during class. I remember seeing someone dressed in all black just before Erica screamed."

"Do you remember anything else?"

He shook his head. "That's all." He yawned and said, "I'm so tired."

"Get some sleep," she told him.

When Dr. Nagell relayed Andy's story to Baker and Capt. Rader, they started to figure out who the targets were.

"There's only one thing that separates Andy from both Justin and Erica," Baker noted. "His god card is one of the Egyptian God monsters; Justin and Erica each have a Sacred Beast. According to Dave, Justin ran a Dark World deck, which suggests that his entire deck was taken when he was abducted. We can probably assume the same of Erica's deck."

"I can't find a medical reason for Andy to be so tired," Dr. Nagell informed them. "The concussion explains it to a degree, but he seems to be fading much faster than he should. I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually ends up like Mitch and Karla."

"So where does that leave us with this case?" Rader asked. "There doesn't seem to be a rational explanation for all this."

Baker sighed. "Then it leaves us with irrational explanations and urban legends. Maybe the god cards really do have their own consciousness."

* * *

So this chapter is a little less exciting in terms of the duels, but it was so much fun to write. It would be great if I could get some feedback on things so far. I know it seems pointless to leave a review that says anything as simple as "This is interesting" or "This is boring," but even a few words at least let me know that someone is reading the story. Maybe you can speculate on the identity of the mysterious Alpha; it would be loads of fun for me to see what kinds of conclusions you all draw based on the information I've given so far.

If Alpha is collecting Sacred Beasts and has already gained Raviel and Hamon, then Bryan is his next target. If Bryan were smart enough to submit himself to police protection, we'd have no story. But can Bryan's lucky and powerful Elemental Heroes protect him from the power of a duelist who has already obtained two more Sacred Beasts?  
Next up: The Beginning

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
__Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	6. The Beginning

Chapter 6: The Beginning

It seemed obvious who Alpha's next target was… obvious to everyone except the target himself. Lucy spent the morning telling Bryan he shouldn't go anywhere as long as there's someone out there kidnapping Guardians; Bryan countered by reminding her that Erica was kidnapped directly from the house. In his mind, the only chance he had at finding his friends was to let their kidnapper find him; maybe he could follow the guy to his hideout, or maybe even get himself kidnapped just to find the hideout directly.

Of course, Bryan couldn't just enact such a plan without objection. He claimed he was going to spend some time hanging out with Matt after dinner and then head back home. If only life were that simple…

"What's new?" Matt asked him in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Lucy's going out of her mind. She knows that she's on the list, and I'm pretty sure she's worried about me, too."

"I don't blame her," Kas said emphatically. "I'd be about ready to get away from here, too. This is just like a crappy apocalypse flick in which everyone catches some weird, unseen pathogen and nobody knows how and it never gets explained. It makes no sense!"

Bryan raised and eyebrow at her, then asked Matt, "What's with her?"

"We just watched _Blindness_."

"Oh, yeah? Any good?"

Matt shook his head. "No plot and the story was just random."

"Too bad. Anything else new?"

Matt offered, "I dislocated a finger at the gym. I was doing dumbbell flyes and lost my grip in my right hand, but instead of moving, I caught the dumbbell in the air. Hurt like mad. Seems pretty trivial in light of recent events, though."

"Maybe, but humor is how we get through a tough time. Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."

Just as Kas was smiling at the thought and using it to rationalize Matt's behavior toward his roommate, Matt responded with, "That's deep. And I'm pretty sure that's how Bill Cosby intended it."

Bryan laughed, caught in the act of quoting someone else. "Well, I'd better head back to the house before we have to have Lucy committed."

"You want an escort?" Matt offered.

Bryan shook his head. "You don't need to go out of your way. I'll be fine. Just going straight home and not stopping for any duels. Don't worry about me doing something stupid. It's not in my genes."

When Matt let Bryan wander off, Kas asked him, "Why didn't you insist? He's going to do something stupid."

"I know. It's in his genes."

Kas scoffed loudly. "We should go with him. I'm pretty handy in a fight."

"He'd be fine in a fight. Bryan's a big guy. But he's also proud, a great duelist, and has a mind of his own. Nothing I say is going to change that."

Bryan did head toward the house after dinner, but not directly. He had a small romantic side squeezed into his heart alongside his ego, and so he went to a small grove in the woods where white flowers grew. These were a rare kind on this island and only grew in the woods, but they're beauty was matched only by the women on the island. Even so, Bryan thought Lucy might like them.

Bryan finally found a flower worthy of plucking when he heard footsteps behind him. Alpha stood in the grove, adorned in his signature black cloak and armed with an active Duel Disk. His size wasn't all that impressive next to Bryan, but the intimidation factor came from his reputation and from the dark air that shrouded him in mystery.

"You must be the one who's kidnapping my roommates," Bryan said.

"You're next," Alpha spoke through his voice filter.

"We'll see," was Bryan's response. "I'm not afraid of the god cards you stole."

"You _should_ be afraid of the Sacred Beasts. They have their own spirits that were once sealed inside the cards, but now those spirits have awakened and are feeding off of your energies."

"What are you talking about? They're just cards."

Alpha would have smirked if his face were not covered by the shroud. "The Sacred Beasts are the spirits of fallen angels sealed within playing cards. The original thought was that playing cards would never be realized as the location of these spirits, at least until they began to absorb dueling energy. Everyone who came in contact with the Sacred Beasts had their spirits absorbed into the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm? That place is real?"

"Very real. It is another plane of existence from which the gods draw their power. It is access to the Shadow Realm and its infinite source of power what makes the gods nigh indestructible."

"They're far from indestructible," Bryan commented. "I agree they're very powerful, but if they were unbeatable, I wouldn't have one."

Alpha laughed—the first sign that there was a person with real human emotions under the hood. "You have only been exposed to the sealed form of Uria. Ever since the catalyst for evoking their power was activated on the island, they have been regaining their strength, and doing so at your expense."

"Mine?"

"Not as an individual, but as a group. The gods have each been drawing energy directly from their possessors. Didn't you wonder why you've been feeling so tired lately? Your roommates have all suffered the same symptoms."

"I assumed it's because we'd been spending all our energy trying to find Justin after you kidnapped him."

Alpha chuckled. "Yes. That was a brilliant move designed to weaken your defenses, making it easier for the gods to draw upon your energy. If only you realized what became of your precious roommates."

"Why don't you go ahead and tell me?"

"I think the better learning experience will be for you to experience it yourself. It's time to duel."

Bryan huffed as he activated his Duel Disk and loaded his deck. The lights from the two Duel Disks illuminated the area pretty brightly, causing Bryan to lose sight of Alpha to a degree. "Won't you at least tell me who you are?"

"You can call me the Alpha."

"Okay then, 'the Alpha.' Let's do this."

Alpha commanded the first turn as the challenger. "I set one monster in defense mode."

Bryan scoffed. "That's it? After you stole two god cards, I figured you'd actually be a threat." He looked over his hand and decided on a strategy. "I'll activate the Field Spell Skyscraper 2 – Hero City, and then I'll summon Elemental Hero Ocean (4/1500/1200) to attack your monster."

"By destroying Koa'ki Meiru Boulder (4/1200/1000), you allow me to retrieve Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from my deck."

Bryan nodded. "I'll set two facedown cards."

"Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards. I'll summon Koa'ki Meiru Powerhand (4/2100/1600) and attack your Ocean (1500)."

Bryan allowed his monster to be destroyed in order to activate his trap: "Hero Signal activates when you destroy a monster on my field. I get to summon an Elemental Hero from my deck, and I pick Stratos (4/1800/300). When he's summoned, I can also move another Elemental Hero to my hand, and I pick Avian."

"I will also set a card, and I will send Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to the Graveyard to prevent the destruction of my monster." Bryan 8000 – 600 = 7400: Alpha 8000.

Bryan had some knowledge of the Koa'ki Meiru cards. Their basic strategy was to defeat the most powerful deck themes, of which Elemental Heroes were not one; Alpha's deck was more suited to battling destruction decks. Bryan hoped here and now to show Alpha just how powerful Elemental Heroes could be when they slip through the cracks of Alpha's strategy.

"The effect of Skyscraper 2 brings Elemental Hero Ocean (1500) back to my field in defense mode. And Ocean's effect lets me put Stratos back into my hand. That means I can summon Stratos (4/1800/300) a second time and retrieve Burstinatrix from my deck. I'll use Polymerization to fuse Burstinatrix and Avian into Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer (6/2100/1200). This bad boy is just like my Flame Wingman, except Phoenix Enforcer isn't destroyed in battle.

"So I'll start the assault with Phoenix Enforcer (2100) against Powerhand (2100) with only your monster taking the hit. Then Stratos (1800) and Ocean (1500) will attack directly." Bryan 7400: Alpha 8000 – 1800 – 1500 = 4700.

Alpha decided, "I'll use the effect of my Iron Core to skip my Draw Phase and take Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from my Graveyard. I'll activate Premature Burial and pay 800 LP to revive Koa'ki Meiru Powerhand (2100), but only to Tribute him for Koa'ki Meiru Valafar (8/3000/2100), who can be summoned with one Tribute when using a Koa'ki Meiru monster. I'll chain Torrential Tribute, a trap that destroys all monsters on the field when a monster is summoned."

"Oh, man," Bryan complained. "I got three monsters on the field and you wiped them out with one card." He stared at the holograms for another moment and realized, "Your monster wasn't destroyed?"

"Valafar (3000) cannot be destroyed by trap cards. He will attack you directly."

"I'll chain Metal Reflect Slime, one of those Trap Monsters (10/0/3000) that moves to my field in defense mode."

"I'll add the equipment Iron Core Armor to Valafar and discard Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to prevent my monster's destruction." Bryan 7600: Alpha 4700 – 800 = 3900.

Bryan sighed with relief. He managed to keep his LP during that round, but beating a 3000-point monster would be tough.

"I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Now I'll set another card and a monster in defense mode."

Alpha chose to skip his Draw Phase again to retrieve Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from the Graveyard. "I will summon Koa'ki Meiru Speeder (3/1200/2200), then attack your monster with Valafar (3000). My beast inflicts piercing damage to you."

"Elemental Hero Flash (4/1100/1600) gets destroyed, but as soon as he does, I can remove him, Avian, Burstinatrix, and Ocean from play to take Pot of Greed from my Graveyard to my hand."

"I'll send Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to the Graveyard to keep my monsters." Bryan 7400 – 1400 = 6200: Alpha 3900.

"I'll play Pot of Greed again to draw two more cards. Now I'll play Monster Reborn to revive Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer (2100), and then I'll use Polymerization to fuse him with Sparkman to summon Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer (8/+3400/2100), who gains 300 points per Elemental Hero in my Graveyard. I'll have him attack Valafar (3000)."

"Iron Core Armor reduces your monster's power by 800 points."

"What?" Bryan watched as his monster's attack backfired and Valafar landed a counterattack. "At least my monster isn't destroyed in battle. I guess I'm done for now." Bryan 6200 – 400 = 5800: Alpha 3900.

Alpha drew, but then he revealed his card. "I can reveal my Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to draw another card by Koa'ki Meiru Speeder's effect."

"I'll chain Respect Play," Bryan said. "This card forces you to show me your hand, and because you can't 'reveal' a card I can already see, you don't get to draw another card."

"Well played. Speeder (2200) will switch to defense mode and Valafar (3000) will attack Shining Phoenix Enforcer (-2600). I'll discard Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru again to keep my monsters." Bryan 5800 – 400 = 5400: Alpha 3900.

Bryan drew and realized he had only one card: Future Fusion was visible by Respect Play's effect. "I'll activate Future Fusion and send Wildheart and Necroshade to the Graveyard to summon Necroid Shaman in two turns. Shining Phoenix Enforcer (3400) will attack Speeder (2200) and end my turn."

Alpha opted to draw and showed his Core Blaster. "I'll equip Valafar (3000) with Core Blaster and send him after your Elemental Hero; a Koa'ki Meiru monster equipped with Core Blaster automatically destroys any light or dark monster. At the end of my turn, Iron Core Armor is destroyed to prevent Valafar's destruction."

"Lucky break," Bryan commented. He drew and showed his Card of Sanctity. He considered playing it, which would let both players draw until he held six cards, but he decided to wait; if Alpha wanted to keep his monster, he'd have to discard the Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru, which he could only get by skipping his Draw Phase. Next turn, Bryan would have another card to work with.

Alpha surprised him. He drew and subsequently set another Koa'ki Meiru Boulder (4/1200/1000), letting his Valafar be destroyed.

Bryan drew Ultimate Offering. "I'll set _a card_… as if you can't see it already… and end my turn."

Alpha drew and gladly showed his own copy of Card of Sanctity. "This spell forces us both to draw until we hold six cards in our hands." Alpha drew Koa'ki Meiru Crusader, Koa'ki Meiru Tornado, Urgent Synthesis, Core Compression, Koa'ki Meiru Maximus, and Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru. Bryan drew Bladedge, Avian, E – Emergency Call, and Skyscraper… and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames.

"Looks like you just gave me my trump card," Bryan announced.

"You will not get to use it," Alpha assured him. "I'll activate Urgent Synthesis, a spell that puts Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from my Graveyard into my deck in order to revive Koa'ki Meiru Boulder from my Graveyard (4/1200/1000). I'll summon Koa'ki Meiru Crusader (4/1900/1300) in attack mode. Next, I'll remove Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from play to Special Summon Koa'ki Meiru Maximus (8/3000/2500) to my field. Maximus's effect lets me destroy one of your cards during my turn, and I choose Metal Reflect Slime.

"Now that your field is wide open, Crusader (1900) will wage a direct attack.

"I'll activate Ultimate Offering and combine it with Necroshade's effect to summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (7/2600/1800) to the field without Tributes," Bryan said, eager to protect his Life Points.

"Maximus (3000) will attack Bladedge (2600), and then Crusader (1900) and both Boulders (1200) will attack you directly."

Oddly, Bryan felt more and more exhausted with each attack to his Life Points; it wasn't a physical pain like he'd feel if he were attacked by real monsters, but more like each hit made it harder to keep his eyes open.

"During the End Phase, I can discard Koa'ki Meiru Tornado to keep Maximus on my field; however, Crusader is destroyed." Bryan 5400 – 500 – 400 – 1900 – 1200 – 1200 = 200: Alpha 3900.

Bryan spent a moment leaning forward to try to catch his breath. He rubbed his eyes to wake himself up, but all it did was cause his eyes to water and blur his vision a bit; he blinked repeatedly for a moment until he could see his cards again. Uria was shining brightly, but Bryan couldn't notice it because of his exhaustion.

"I'll draw," he said, revealing his Labyrinth of Nightmare card. "During my Standby Phase, I get to summon Elemental Hero Necroid Shaman (6/1900/1800), and his summoning means I get to destroy Koa'ki Meiru Maximus, but in exchange, I choose a monster from your Graveyard for you to Special Summon; take Speeder (1200) in attack mode. Next I'll use E – Emergency Call to move Sparkman (4/1600/1400) to my hand and summon him to the field. And now I'll use the effect of my Skyscraper 2 – Hero City once again to summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600) back to the field.

"Bladedge (2600) will destroy Speeder (1200), Necroid Shaman (1900) will destroy Boulder (1200) number one, and Sparkman (1600) will destroy Boulder (1200) number two."

Alpha reminded him, "Boulder's effect lets me take Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru and Koa'ki Meiru Ice from my deck to my hand."

"I'll set one more card and end my turn." Bryan 200: Alpha 3900 – 1400 – 700 – 400 = 1400.

Alpha knew exactly what Bryan's card was; he set Labyrinth of Nightmare and hoped to activate it and use it as fodder to summon Uria during his next turn. His dragon would have 4000 AP, and even the Koa'ki Meiru monsters wouldn't be able to stop him.

"I'll have to stop you now," Alpha spoke. "I'll summon Koa'ki Meiru Ice (4/1900/1200) and send him to attack Sparkman (1600)."

Bryan gasped when he realized he left his monster out there unprotected. He was so tired and had so much trouble focusing that he couldn't keep his eye on the entire field anymore. Bryan 200 – 300 = 0: Alpha 1400.

The wave of exhaustion that hit Bryan earlier was nothing to the exhaustion he felt now. He fell to his haunches and barely managed to stay upright. He stared at Alpha as his cloaked opponent approached him calmly and without any sign of hostility.

"I'm impressed," he spoke. "You have vastly more energy than I was told. Perhaps even more than Forbidden Dave. No wonder Uria could not exhaust your consciousness by itself."

"What's happening to me?"

Bryan could just see Alpha's mouth in the moonlight. He had a prominent jaw and a hardened nose, most likely a male's.

"The Shadows are consuming your energy. Your consciousness is being suppressed."

"Why?"

Alpha's mouth pulled back into a grin. "Because your god card belongs to me."

* * *

Now Alpha has kidnapped all three Sacred Beast Guardians. Does this mean his plan will soon come to fruition, or is there something else to it? More and more students on campus are falling prey to the same ailment that has Mitch and Karla, with no signs of improvement from any one of them. When Lucy and Andy disappear, Dave is the last Guardian remaining on the island. After he submits himself to police protection and hides Slifer the Sky Dragon, will Alpha's plan be foiled?  
Next up: The End


	7. The End

Chapter 7: The End

First Justin, then Erica, and Bryan to cap it off. Every Guardian of a Sacred Beast disappeared. Search parties turned up zero sign of any of them, almost like they physically vanished from the island.

But the biggest shock was the disappearance of Lucy from her room overnight. Even Andy, surrounded by people in the infirmary, disappeared without as much as a peep. Whoever this Alpha character was, he was getting better at kidnapping the Guardians… so good he was almost in two places at once; four more students fell into comas within a half hour of one another on separate ends of the campus.

Dave was remanded to police custody, everyone knowing full-well that he was the next target and held the only remaining god card in Academy possession. Slifer the Sky Dragon was the first god card owned by the very first King of Games; to lose that card would be the ultimate disgrace to the Academy. And Dave needed protection to make sure that he would be available to defend the campus if the gods were amassed as an antagonistic force.

"I don't see what difference that would make," Matt commented. "They're cards."

"They're the cause of all these comas," Dave assured him. Matt still thought the magic idea was a little ridiculous, although he had that little twinge of doubt in the back of his mind. Even if magic god cards—by definition—defy logic, they did make a convenient explanation for the strange events on campus.

Dave added, "Perhaps the most distressing news is that this guy Alpha can use _all_ the god cards."

"Really?" Cary asked. "I didn't think that was possible. Didn't you say it's almost impossible for someone to have the energy to play even _two_ god cards?"

Dave shrugged. "Apparently that wasn't true." He quietly revealed the shining red card in his deck. It was shimmering even before he touched it; Matt had a hard time denying that there was _something_ special about a card that could be its own night light.

"Wow," Kasumi uttered. "Does it always do that?"

"No. This is new. This is what makes me believe in all those stories that say the god cards are magic. Slifer has felt heavy for weeks now, and it keeps shining regardless of my making contact with it."

"What does it mean?" Matt asked, noting that there was obviously something up with this card for it to shine without a flashlight.

"I don't know. Usually a god card will only shine when a worthy duelist channels a bit of his or her own energy through the card; the spirit of the card responds by harmonizing with the duelist's energy, thus creating a shine on the surface of the card. For Slifer to shine without having energy channeled through it… Maybe Slifer's spirit is awakening."

Matt heard the comment, but he just couldn't comprehend it.

"Why don't you tell me all about the god cards?" he requested of Dave. "I know everyone knows everything about them, but I'm not as experienced as everyone else. Maybe I can help pick out something in the story that makes sense. Start from the beginning."

Cary and Kasumi didn't object, and so Dave began to tell the history of the god cards as he knew it, accompanied by a picture montage on the laptop he was using:

"The Egyptian God Cards were among the earliest cards ever created by Pegasus J. Crawford. The story goes that only one copy of each card was created because everyone involved in the project claimed to be haunted by wicked spirits, and so Pegasus had to create the cards by hand. When he, too, began to experience the haunting, he sent the cards to Egypt to have them sealed within the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh said to control the gods ages ago; his hope was the god cards would never be found and whatever spirit was attached to them would be locked away in that tomb forever.

"A descendant of the pharaoh's tomb keepers discovered their power and desired it for himself, however. Seto Kaiba, the founder of our school, caught wind of the god cards and organized the Battle City Tournament to gather them in one place. Eventually, Yugi Mutou, the first King of Games, won the tournament and all three god cards. Rumors say he was able to use them without being haunted by spirits because he was the reincarnation of the ancient pharaoh.

"Seto Kaiba retired from dueling, but his younger brother Mokuba, using data collected during the Battle City Tournament, decided to create newer versions of the god cards to use in tournament play. He patterned each new card after the Egyptian gods, giving them similar, but more reasonable, effects. They became known as the Sacred Beasts.

"But there must be something about the design of the god cards that is particularly attractive to the spirit world; the Sacred Beasts suddenly started haunting the people who came in contact with them and affecting the way certain cards could play. They were sealed away beneath Duel Academy as a way to keep them hidden and yet keep an eye on them at the same time. There was an incident in the Academy's history in which the Sacred Beasts were unleashed, but they were quickly quelled and Mokuba Kaiba retrieved them.

"The Kaibas placed the Sacred Beasts in the same tomb as the Egyptian God Cards to make sure they would stay hidden. But tomb raiders stumbled upon them and sold the cards on the black market. Collectors and duelists around the world were haunted by the cards until one man found them and renewed the seal over the cards. The spirits could no longer haunt the users, and so the god cards were all used in the dueling world to earn and steal big money.

"Finally, Seto Kaiba came out of retirement and spent six months retrieving all six god cards. Seto Kaiba hardly believed in the idea of spirits being sealed within playing cards, but he still wanted them somewhere he could keep an eye on them, and his own Duel Academy seemed like an excellent place. It would help the students learn about some historically significant cards and his technology would basically follow the gods around. Fortunately, the mysterious seal on the cards was a lasting one, and so the students were hardly at great risk."

When Dave's montage ended, Kasumi said, "It sounds like the seal has faded."

"Good bet," Dave agreed. "That means the gods can be dangerous to the people who use them, but even more dangerous to the people who _face_ them. I heard Pr. Baker say that all the students who have been falling comatose lost in duels to the god cards."

Matt started chuckling, but only because laughter was his way of dealing with an illogical turn of events.

"It's not funny," Cary snapped. "This is a problem for everyone. The Guardians are all but one kidnapped and the rest of the students are falling into comas. We're all at risk."

"That's exactly why the police want to keep me here," Dave explained. He looked over the room, one of the offices with lots of books and locked files, a big desk, and a cot with a pillow and blanket. "It looks like this is my home for the night."

"Did they at least give you something cool to play with?" Matt asked.

Dave cracked a grin as a force of habit. "No. No weapons or badges or anything."

"Bummer."

Cary was not amused. Her cousin was the next target of some kidnapper who was so good that he left zero trace behind. Some students were leaving campus until the police could find the guy; Lakisha's and Jess's parents were among those worried enough to bring their kids back home for a while. Dave was surer of the quality of the police force.

"You three should get home."

Cary shook her head vehemently. "No. Why? We should stay with you."

"No, you should get some sleep. I'm surrounded by police officers and dispatchers, and I don't need you guys here talking in the background, worrying Monica any more than she already worries about me while I'm on the phone with her."

Cary and Kas thought that was a little stupid, but Matt knew that a proud guy has an easier time talking to a girlfriend when there are no other people around to embarrass him about it. He convinced Kas and Cary that nothing special could possibly happen just by the three of them staying overnight in the police department.

"I'm coming to check on you first thing in the morning," Cary assured him before she kissed him and bid him goodnight.

Dave watched his friends leave, then closed the door to the office he was borrowing and pulled his phone from the wall where he was recharging it. His second speed dial number was Monica's and the only one he called more often than his voicemail.

"Hey, honey," he said after she picked up. "I have a little more information to divulge about the missing Justin issue I mentioned." Dave proceeded to give Monica the _Reader's Digest_ version of the events on campus, from Justin's kidnapping to the rest of his roommates disappearing and the students falling under mysterious illnesses.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner. Everyone thinks I'm the next target; that's why they've got me staying in the police department until they find the guy."

Monica proceeded to list the reasons he should come home from the academy immediately and let the police deal with it. She used the urban legends about the god cards and how dangerous they are as evidence to support her position.

Dave took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Monica. There's a chance I won't be able to talk to you for a while… but I can't just let someone else take the hit for me. Just know that I love you very much, and I will do everything I can to come back to you." With that, he hung up the phone and turned it off before she could fight with him.

He looked around the room again. It was fully stocked, but there were no windows. That meant Dave was going to have to get creative if he wanted to be unnoticed on his way out. At least he knew where he was going.

----------

The Guardian house looked normal from the outside; only a single light was on in Dave's room and another was on in the kitchen, both visible from the back of the house. Dave was outside looking in, however, and so he obviously wasn't the one in his room. It was likely an officer or two, hoping to catch the kidnapper in the act when he came after Dave. Curious how that was going, Dave crept next to the window and peeked inside.

A young officer, wearing clothes almost identical to Dave's, lay limp in Dave's computer chair. He considered the possibility the officer just passed out, but the fact that his computer was currently in the process of rebooting suggested some sort of power surge. There are only two ways a power surge could knock out a police officer sitting in a rubber chair, and Justin already outfitted Dave's computer with all kinds of safeguards against random electrocution.

"He's already been here."

"I'm _still_ here."

Dave whipped around and saw a cloaked figure standing in the moonlight. The figure was entirely clothed in black, just as Dave remembered: a black cloak covering a black tunic and big sunglasses covering a blank face. He wore a black, Battle City Duel Disk on his arm and his voice was still altered by a mechanical voice filter.

But there was something different. He looked shorter by about a foot and smaller by at least twenty pounds. And there was something about the soft, sharper appearance to his chin; Dave remembered it being rounder and more prominent. How can a person lose so much mass in only a week? Even god card magic can't do that.

"You're not Alpha," he said.

The figure cracked a grin, even though it didn't take a licensed detective to figure out the difference between this person—a woman, he guessed—and the Alpha who crashed the administration building.

"I go by Omega."

Dave chortled. "Clever."

"Alpha has collected all three Sacred Beasts. When I defeat you and obtain Slifer, I will have all three Egyptian Gods."

"Why do you want them?"

"The god cards have access to a higher plane of existence, a collective consciousness known to you and the conspiracy theorists as The Shadow Realm. That collective conscious is what makes the god cards a source of infinite power. All it takes is a will of sufficient magnitude to harness that power. We have the strength of will: We are the Alpha and the Omega."

Dave smirked. "Cute. Where are my friends?"

"They're safe, and they are closer than you think. You will discover firsthand that when I finally hold Slifer the Sky Dragon, I will have no reason to bother any other students."

When Omega lifted her arm and activated his Duel Disk, Dave did the same. But before he could load his deck, Omega interrupted him and tossed him a card. He gazed with surprise upon Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"I thought I left this at the police department," he commented.

Omega started beaming with pride. "I took it from your hiding place as soon as you left the department. And just because I know you're curious… Yes, everyone there is now in the same condition as that officer in your room."

Dave figured as much. It was tough enough for him to convince the dispatcher to pretend he was still in his room; there's no way she just let Omega wander into and out of the department without an escort, and he doubted Omega could actually walk through walls.

"Why give the card to me? You want it so badly? Just keep it."

"Slifer has not finished with you yet. Before it can reach its full potential, you have to lose a duel."

"You know that rarely happens to me, right?"

"This will be one of those times."

Dave added Slifer to his deck and loaded the deck into his Duel Disk. "When I win this, you release my friends and tell me what you've done to the police and the students."

"Deal. Now let's duel." Omega drew her opening hand, then quickly drew a sixth card; she was of the mindset that the first person to draw gets to start the game.

"Spell Absorption will start this duel; every time a spell is played, I gain 500 LP. I'll use it now when I play Dimensional Fissure; now every monster sent to the Graveyard will be removed from play instead. I'll add Soul Absorption, which gives me another 500 LP every time a monster is removed from play. Then I'll activate Confiscation, a spell that lets me pay 1000 LP to look at your hand and send a card to the Graveyard."

Dave revealed his hand: Exodia the Forbidden One, Chainsaw Insect, Sangan, Reckless Greed, and Appropriate.

"I'll have you discard Exodia's head, but my Dimensional Fissure removes him from play. I'll end by setting a monster." Dave 8000: Omega 8000 + 500 + 500 + 500 – 1000 + 500 = 9000.

Dave's first turn and he already lost the opportunity to summon Exodia for an instant win. That left Slifer the Sky Dragon and the rest of the cards in Dave's deck.

"I'll set two cards and a monster, as well."

"That's it?" Omega scoffed. "I'll summon Thunder King Rai-Oh (4/1900/800) and flip summon my D.D. Scout Plane (2/800/1200). Rai-Oh (1900) will destroy your monster."

"No, he won't," Dave countered. "Destiny Hero – Defender (4/100/2700) has a much higher defense than your monster's offense."

"You must have just drawn that," Omega noted. "Take your turn." Dave 8000: Omega 9000 – 800 = 8200.

Dave drew his next card and considered his hand. Thanks to Rai-Oh and Dimensional Fissure, he couldn't use Sangan's effect to grab another monster from his deck. He hoped Appropriate would get him through the deck quickly enough to find Slifer the Sky Dragon, but many of his cards worked better if his monsters were in the Graveyard and not removed from play.

"I'll activate Appropriate; as long as it stays on the field, I draw two cards every time you draw one outside your Draw Phase. Next I'll summon my Chainsaw Insect (4/2400/0) to attack your Thunder King (1900). My Insect's effect lets you draw a card at the end of the Damage Step, and Appropriate gives me two cards, as well. I'll set one more card and end my turn." Dave 8000: Omega 8200 – 500 + 500 = 8200. Rai-Oh was removed from play by Dimensional Fissure, and Omega gained the 500 points from Soul Absorption.

"My turn," Omega spoke. "Your Defender (2700) gives me another card during my Standby Phase, which means you get to draw two more cards, I suppose."

"Indeed," Dave said. Now he had a fresh hand.

Omega grinned to herself. "I'll play Delinquent Duo, a spell that costs 1000 LP and randomly sends one card from your hand to the Graveyard, then forces you to discard a second card."

Dave randomly lost the Left Arm of the Forbidden One, which was removed from play by Dimensional Fissure. He purposefully discarded Sangan because its effect wouldn't help Dave anytime soon, anyway.

"Now I'll summon D.D. Assailant (4/1700/1600) to attack your Chainsaw Insect (2400). When D.D. Assailant is destroyed in battle, both monsters are removed from play. We both still draw from Chainsaw Insect's effect, though."

"I know," Dave replied.

"I'll set a card and end my turn." Dave 8000: Omega 8200 + 500 – 1000 + 500 + 500 + 500 + 500 = 9700.

Dave thought to himself, _'This duel is going to take forever. She keeps gaining Life Points and I'm going to deck out before long.'_

"I'll activate my Reckless Greed trap to draw two cards if I skip my next two Draw Phases. Now I'll play the Double Summon spell, and I'll summon Right Arm of the Forbidden One, then I'll play Soul Exchange to use your monster as a Tribute for Slifer the Sky Dragon (10/+5000/+5000)."

The Duel Disks both crackled as an enormous red dragon materialized from the trees. Whereas most holograms projected by the Duel Disks were pretty transparent, Slifer seemed perfectly solid, almost like a real, three-dimensional object. Dave noticed the discrepancy, in part because he never saw a Slifer hologram look so flawless before.

"Slifer gains 1000 points per card in my hand, but I can't attack during this turn because of Soul Exchange. I'll end my turn."

"During the End Phase of a turn when my D.D. Scout Plane (1200) was removed from play, I get to summon it back to my field in defense mode." Dave 8000: Omega 9700 + 500 + 500 + 500 + 500 + 500 = 12,200.

"Good luck beating Slifer (5000)," Dave commented.

"I'm ready," Omega challenged. "I'll set—"

"I'll chain Light of Intervention; this trap prevents any monster from being set on the field. You have to summon your monster face-up and subject it to Slifer's special ability." Omega grudgingly flipped D.D. Warrior (4/1200/1000). "When a monster with fewer than 2000 defense points is summoned, Slifer destroys it instantly."

"I remember. I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"I'll summon another Chainsaw Insect (4/2400/0) and attack you directly, letting you draw a card and me draw two more. Now Slifer (+7000) will attack you directly for an enormous chunk of damage."

Omega laughed. "I'll chain Inferno Tempest, a spell that activates when I take 3000 LP damage in one go. All the monsters in our decks and Graveyards get removed from play." Dave 8000: Omega 12,200 – 2400 – 7000 = 4600.

Dave narrowed his eyes as he set one card. Why would she make a move like that? Slifer was the strongest monster on the field, and without any monsters, there was no way she could beat him. On the other hand, both players' decks were trimmed significantly, so maybe she was counting on Appropriate to make Dave deck out. The Fiber Jar he still had in his hand would protect him from that event, however.

"Slifer the Sky Dragon…" Omega uttered. "The god card owned by the first King of Games. It is an amazing sight, and a nearly unbeatable monster."

"Then how do _you_ plan to do it?"

Omega grinned. "I'm not going to beat Slifer… I'm beating _you_." She smiled at her hand. "I'll set one more card and end my turn."

Before Dave could even draw, Omega activated her cards. "I'll play two copies of D.D. Dynamite, each of which hits you directly for 300 points of damage per card you have removed from play."

Dave couldn't believe it. He was certain she was going to deck him out—that was how Yugi Mutou beat Slifer in its first Battle City appearance—but she managed to strike him for each of the fourteen monsters he had removed from play. Dave 8000 – 4200 – 4200 = 0: Omega 5600.

"There's a first time for everything," Omega assured him. "Even big name duelists like Seto Kaiba and Judai Yuki didn't go undefeated throughout their lives. It doesn't make me think any less of you, Forbidden Dave."

Dave couldn't even muster the strength to ask what was happening now. He was losing consciousness rapidly. Everything around him became dark and his vision clouded. Maybe this was the Shadow Realm spoken of in legends.

"Now that you'll be working for the Shadows, you'll become even stronger."

* * *

I've pretty much decided that I'm done with this. I love dueling a lot, but it seems so difficult to come up with a dueling story that can hold my attention. Maybe I'm my own harshest critic, but despite how pleased I was when I came up with this story arc, I'm having trouble believing it's any good because no one has anything to say about it. I will probably close out this arc before I quit writing about duels, just in case I actually do have any quiet fans out there. The next chapter will showcase members of both Team Lockdown and Team OTK attempting to take back the god cards. How do you think that will end?

There is no official version of Slifer the Sky Dragon yet; the following description is the card effect I am using (based on the show, the games, and the existing Egyptian effect cards):  
Slifer the Sky Dragon  
Stars: 10  
Attribute: Divine  
Type: Divine-Beast/Dragon/Effect  
ATK: X000  
DEF: X000  
"You must Tribute 3 monsters to Normal Summoned or Set this card. This card's Normal Summon cannot be negated. When this card is Normal Summoned, the effects of Spell, Trap, and Effect Monsters cannot be activated. This card cannot be targeted by the effects of Spells, Traps, or Effect Monsters. If this card is Special Summoned, it is sent to the Graveyard during the End Phase. The ATK and DEF of this card are equal to the number of cards in your hand × 1000. When your opponent successfully Summons a monster with 2000 DEF or less, destroy that monster."


	8. Lockdown the Gods in One Turn

Chapter 8: Lockdown the Gods in One Turn

Darius knew Matt was pulling pranks as a way to cope with the stress of having his friends kidnapped. Matt seemed to find his reprieve in experiencing humor and thrusting humor upon others. Darius was a very understanding man during Matt's troublesome time, but that didn't mean he wasn't growing more and more cautious each morning.

When he climbed out of bed, he checked the floor for dish soap, but there was none to take his feet from under him. He checked the door to his closet before opening it, but there was no bucket overhead to drench him. There was nothing inside his shoes and his clothes were the same as they were the night before. The room was normal; Matt apparently didn't set up any pranks.

"Perhaps _now_ is when I should worry."

He opened the door to leave for the bathroom only to find the light from the hallway didn't enter the room. In fact, nothing could enter through the wall of duct tape that completely entombed the door. Darius pushed on it, but the duct tape was taut across the frame and Darius wasn't strong enough to break it himself. The only way for him to get through was to use a knife he left inside his desk drawer.

"He is an amazing boy."

----------

With Dave gone and the student and staff body falling into comas like narcoleptic flies, the faculty felt it necessary to encourage the students to go home until the situation could be settled. The rest of the students—the ones who refused to leave or had nowhere to go—were gathered in the recreation center. The facilities were sufficient to accommodate a large group of people in one place, the basketball courts had plenty of floor space for the students to sleep, and the building had the equipment to provide food—cooked or vending machine—temporarily.

"Dr. Nagell says she still doesn't know what's causing it," Kas commented.

Fusayo Yamakawa of Team OTK replied, "I heard it was some virus that infects weak duelists."

"But Blue duelists are also falling ill," Matt pointed out. "That's certainly not the rank of a weak duelist. Besides, how would a virus know how well a person duels? That just doesn't make sense."

"It's not contagious," Kas corrected Fusayo. "Dr. Nagell said it's just exhaustion, with a little kidney failure and dehydration on the side."

"And a coma," Haruki Yagawa reminded her. "That's not 'just a little' _anything_!"

"It _is_ contagious," Miyu Kino chimed in. "The Guardian Duelers. They are the ones behind it."

Matt looked to Miyu with a curious glance and asked, "Okay, what does that mean?"

Miyu sighed and said, "You think it's a coincidence that people have only been afflicted since the Guardian Duelers were kidnapped? Think about it: First, Justin gets kidnapped and just a couple of people fall ill. Then Erica and Bryan disappeared and people started falling ill at higher rates. Then Lucy, Andy, and finally Dave disappeared, and now it seems almost impossible to go outside without falling into a coma."

Fusayo replied, "That does seem an odd coincidence. You're brilliant to figure that out."

"Oh, come on," Matt replied. "What exactly do you think the Guardians are doing? You think they carry around tranquilizers they're injecting into the students who are stupid enough to wander around the island alone?"

"No," responded Junichi Kaneko, the second-ranked member of Team Lockdown, as he joined the conversation. "They are sending students' souls to the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm," Matt repeated incredulously. He leaned over to Cary and quietly asked her to remind him what that was. She briefly described it as a place like Hell from which evil spirits often spring. His response was a slow, "Uh huh…"

"It's true," Junichi insisted. "I've seen it."

"You have?" Kas asked. She was more concerned about the idea that some students were actually dumb enough to confront the people responsible for this illness than the idea that he had witnessed any event regarding the Shadow Realm.

"They're all around campus," Junichi explained. "I saw Erica near Marufuji Hall and Andy near the Medici building. Lori and Bobby said they saw Justin near the Yellow Dorm."

"You mean their decks weren't stolen after all?" Haruki asked.

"Nope. They each still have their decks, and they're using their god cards to send people to the Shadow Realm. Now that they have Dave, too, there's no one on the island strong enough to beat them."

Fusayo argued animatedly, "That's not true. Haruki could beat any of them."

"Settle," Haruki requested of his overzealous teammate. He already lost three teammates to this potentially Shadow Realm-related illness, and he didn't need Fusayo joining them just to prove a point. "If you would, Junichi, please explain to me what you've seen."

Junichi proceeded to describe the scene he witnessed when he watched Erica duel. "First she demanded participation in a duel, and when the guy tried to turn her down, she emitted some kind of nauseating energy wave. It felt like… like being sat on by an enormous, fat guy. Or maybe like having a heavy curtain fall down on your shoulders after you drink mouthwash. It makes you feel sick to your stomach, and it didn't stop until the guy agreed to the duel. The duel seemed normal enough except that everything got dark and cold as soon as Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder hit the field. Hamon pretty much sealed the duel, and the guy never got up after the duel ended."

"Creepy," Kas uttered.

"Bogus," Matt muttered in addition. "How come they didn't get you?"

Junichi smiled seductively at Kas—at which point Matt only made a face—and said, "Don't worry. Team Lockdown was created to prevent the god cards from ever reaching the field. We'll defeat the Guardians and reclaim the god cards."

"You can't be serious," Cary said. "Dave can't be beaten. The others are nearly impossible to beat. You can't do it just by locking down the field. And if you're right about the gods using the power of the Shadow Realm in a duel, they will be that much tougher, and you will just end up in a bed in the hospital like everyone else."

Junichi just smiled back. "Tell me that again when I come back with Hamon." He walked confidently out of the gym and into the night. Kas was worried about him, but Matt still believed the worst thing that could happen to Junichi is he's attacked by a bear.

"He's an idiot if he thinks his team can win," Miyu commented. "The best way to beat a Guardian is to take him or her down hard and fast. Take them down in the first turn and they can't fight back."

Matt lay back on the floor and stared up at the rafters on the ceiling of the gymnasium. He couldn't bring himself to believe in the Shadow Realm, but he was focused on the prospect of the Guardians being hypnotized. Hypnotism is not a permanent or even semi-permanent function; it fades after about ten minutes without reinforcement. Something must be keeping them hypnotized, but what could possibly do that?

And was it even true?

Too much magic talk. Matt just stared at the ceiling, with Kasumi resting her head on his chest, until he drifted off to sleep.

----------

Junichi crept around the Marufuji building, hoping he could sneak up on one of the Guardian Duelers. He saw Erica two nights ago beside the building, not far from the duel terminal and the bench. She might've picked a new spot to stalk her prey, but she ought to be somewhere nearby. Maybe he could sneak up on her, but as long as she found him, he could beat her and take her god card.

He must have waited for hours. At least, it _felt_ like hours. Maybe it was only one hour. Junichi should have thought to bring a book with him. Anything to kill some time. Anything except staring at his Duel Disk and flipping through his cards. He could go crazy like this. He lay on the bench and just gave it enough push at the chain to swing a little in the night air. He was starting to crash from that earlier adrenaline high; he could drift off to sleep like this.

"Junichi?"

He whipped his head up and immediately had to shield his ears from the high-pitched screaming. A flash of blonde hair preceded a sharp pain in his shoulder.

"Why are you hitting me?"

Cary screamed back, "Why are you pretending to be in a coma?"

Junichi's clever retort: "I wasn't."

Cary huffed loudly, then took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down. Junichi stared at her for a moment. She wore her red blazer and white skirt, and she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. In the moonlight, she looked especially pretty, the way the light bounced off her skin.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He put on a smile similar to the one he shot Kasumi earlier. "You here to keep me company?"

"No," she replied harshly. "I was worried about you. But not for any special reason. Just the same way I'm worried about everyone falling ill."

"You don't have to worry about me," Junichi assured her confidently. "I'll be fine."

"You do remember the Guardians, right? As in the top six duelists in the school? The ones who rarely lose? How can you be so confident?"

Junichi replied, "I'm that good. Just watch me."

Cary started to voice a reminder that Junichi was hardly among the elite duelists when the both felt a shift in the air. It got heavy, like sitting underneath a high-powered fan that's pointed straight down on top of you. A bearer of the Shadows was nearby. Junichi ignored the rest of Cary's comments as he whipped his head around to find the source of this severe energy. Cary noticed it, too, and pointed out the direction of the shift.

The familiar guise of cloak and shadows stood just past the threshold of the shadows of the trees, taking slow, purposeful steps toward the pair of duelists. The figure was bigger than Erica, though; she must have switched her stalking grounds with someone else. This body was thicker than Erica, but not a whole lot taller. When the light hit his darker skin, Andy was revealed.

"Duel me," he spoke.

Cary suddenly felt very intimidated. Junichi was correct after all. The Guardian Duelers were behind everything! They weren't just rumors and urban legends. The Guardians were using the god cards to spiritually kill all the students and staff on the island. She grabbed Junichi's sleeve and gripped tightly, trying to pull him into running but unable to do so by herself.

Junichi wasn't worried. In fact, he seemed even more confident than before. He removed Cary's hand from his sleeve and simply told her, "Watch this. Prepare to be amazed." Cary stayed speechless while Junichi activated his Duel Disk and accepted Andy's challenge.

"I know you think you're hot stuff," Junichi said, "but I'm going to beat you here and now and take your god card for my own."

Andy didn't respond with words. He simply held up his Duel Disk and took the first turn. He summoned X-Head Cannon (4/1800/1500) and activated Frontline Base, a spell that let him summon a union-type monster during each turn. As the name suggests, a union monster is one that joins with another monster, specifically as an equip card. The union monster Andy chose was Z-Metal Tank (4/1500/1300). He placed one card facedown and ended his turn.

"Not very talkative, are you?" Junichi asked, trying to disarm Andy. It didn't work. "I'll summon Zombyra the Dark (4/2100/900). This monster comes with a lot of downsides, such as being unable to attack directly and losing 200 points every time he destroys your monster. But he is powerful enough to be worth the downside. Zombyra (2100) will attack X-Head Cannon (1800)."

Andy activated his trap, a card called Roll-Out; it immediately activated the union effect of Z-Metal Tank, thus equipping it to X-Head Cannon (+2400) and increasing its power by 600.

"I should have expected such a play by a Guardian Dueler," Junichi noted. "I'll renege on my attack on the replay and instead set two cards and end my turn."

Andy initiated contact fusion by removing both his monsters from play; this let him summon XZ-Tank Cannon (6/2400/2100), a combination of his two machines. And by discarding one card, XZ-Tank Cannon destroyed Junichi's facedown spell called My Body as a Shield. Andy further activated Pot of Greed to draw two cards, and then summoned V-Tiger Jet (1600/1800). He sent his XZ-Tank Cannon (2400) to attack Zombyra (2100). Junichi couldn't stop the attack, and so Andy also attacked with V-Tiger Jet (1600). Then he activated the Quick-Play spell Dimension Explosion; he sent XZ-Tank Cannon back to the fusion deck to summon X-Head Cannon (1800) and Z-Metal Tank (1500) back to the field, each for a direct attack. Andy 8000: Junichi 8000 – 300 – 1600 – 1800 – 1500 = 2800.

"Geez," Junichi uttered as he felt a big wave of exhaustion and nausea roll over him. He wasn't really ready for Andy to call his bluff on his facedown card. He could see from the corner of his eye Cary looking so scared she was ready to cry. He forced a smile and assured her he was fine. Besides, he just drew the card he needed.

"Pot of Greed lets me draw two more cards. I'll play Fusion Sage to bring Polymerization from my deck to my hand. Next I'll use that Polymerization to fuse Maryokutai with Zombyra the Dark to summon The Last Warrior from Another Planet (7/2350/2300). As long as this guy stays on the field, neither of us can summon a monster in any way."

Andy didn't even wince.

Junichi was pleased, though, because his lockdown strategy was already in place. "I'll play Lightning Vortex, which says I just have to discard one card from my hand to destroy all your face-up monsters. That leaves you open for attack from The Last Warrior (2350)." Andy 8000 – 2350 = 5650: Junichi 2800.

As soon as Andy's turn started, Junichi excitedly announced, "I'll activate my Light of Intervention trap. With this card on the field, you can't set a monster facedown, and The Last Warrior prevents you from summoning them face-up. You get it now? With my lockdown strategy, you can't summon monsters, and with no monsters, you can't summon your god card."

Andy showed no emotion at all. He simply put two cards facedown.

"Now I've got the edge," Junichi said. Andy didn't react except to activate Sakuretsu Armor to negate Junichi's attack and destroy his monster. Junichi didn't look worried, though. He had a good counter-measure set up. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

Andy immediately activated Nightmare Archfiends to summon three Nightmare Archfiend Tokens (6/2000/2000) to Junichi's field. His lockdown opponent wasn't certain of the purpose, however.

"Why would you bother with a play like that? Were you trying to fill my monster zones and prevent me from reviving my Last Warrior?" He forced a chuckle and said, "It didn't work. I've still got two open monster zones." He had trouble summoning a great deal of honest confidence, however, because he knew he was up against one of the best duelists around, and nothing should be taken for granted against a Guardian.

Andy drew his next card, and suddenly a powerful force created a wind that erupted from Andy's Duel Disk and pushed into Junichi and Cary, causing them both to wince and shield their faces. Andy activated the card Owner's Seal, a spell that took all three Nightmare Archfiend Tokens from Junichi's field and brought them to Andy's side.

"I'll activate my Call of the Haunted," Junichi challenged. "It revives my Last Warrior (2350), and his effect takes place again to prevent you from summoning a monster."

But Andy's move didn't stop. His three Token monsters still disappeared and were replaced with an eruption of sunlight. All Andy needed to begin this move was three monsters on the field, which he couldn't get until the brief moment when The Last Warrior from Another Planet wasn't on the field.

Andy's field erupted with sunlight as his monster took the field, first as an orb, but quickly hatching and growing into a shiny, metallic dragon. This was the Winged Dragon of Ra (10/+5550/+5550).

"What the…? How did he summon a god when I locked down his field?" Junichi uttered. He also watched the monster's Life Points grow and wondered when they would quit rising. "Where did it get that power?" He checked the status of the Duel Disks and noted the source of the discrepancy. Andy used his own Life Points to power up his dragon—all but 100 of them.

It was so powerful, and Junichi couldn't do any more to stop it than he already did—it just wasn't enough because Ra's power is so great, his summoning cannot be negated or prevented by any card effects. Andy simply pointed toward Junichi and his monster; even without Duel Disk commands, the Winged Dragon of Ra (5550) burst forward and engulfed The Last Warrior from Another Planet (2350) in flames. Andy 5650 – 5550 = 100: Junichi 2800 – 3200 = 0.

Junichi couldn't believe it. His lockdown strategy failed him. Andy must have known about it ahead of time and put together just such cards to get around it. Maybe Cary was right and it really was impossible for anyone to beat the Guardians.

He didn't have to think on it long. He was unconscious by the time he hit the grass.

----------

A cloaked figure waited at the Medici building just as Junichi said. But it wasn't Andy; the skin tone was too light and the body was too tall. This body shape was one Miyu recognized from the time she spent with him.

"Justin," she noted. Several overconfident, wayward students lay unconscious on the ground near where Justin waited. "This is what became of my ex-boyfriend."

Just like Andy, Justin wasn't talkative. He didn't care to rehash old memories. He didn't care to discuss the fact that he asked Miyu out the first six times he saw her as a freshman. He wasn't bothered by the fact that Miyu fell in love with Haruki after becoming a member of Team OTK, which she joined because she wanted to stay close to Justin. All he wanted right now was to feed Miyu's aura to Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.

Miyu activated her Duel Disk and accepted Justin's unspoken challenge—something Haruki never would have let her do if he were awake when she snuck out of the gym. She knew she was strong enough to resist the Guardians, and probably strong enough to rescue everyone else from the Shadow Realm. All she had to do was defeat Justin in a duel; he started this mess, and so beating him would end it.

Knowing her opponent as well as she did gave Miyu both an edge and a setback. She knew his strategy and could therefore avoid playing any cards that would force him to discard, thus avoiding his Dark World monsters' effects. Even so, he still had ways to swarm the field and deliver a powerful one-turn-kill.

But so did she. Who would get it together first?

"I'll play Moray of Greed to shuffle two water monsters back into my deck and draw three cards." Close. She still needed one more specific card. "Next is Graceful Charity where I draw three cards and discard two." She got it, but she'd have to discard something important. She decided to discard a couple of water monsters. "I'll summon Metabo-Shark (4/1800/500), which lets me shuffle two fish-type monsters from my Graveyard into my deck. I'll set two cards."

Justin played his cards without offering a word.

He started with Dark World Dealings, which let each player draw a card and then discard a card. Justin discarded Sillva, Warlord of Dark World (5/2300/1400), which immediately was summoned to the field. Even if it didn't get its second effect because Miyu wasn't the one who discarded it, Sillva (2300) was still bigger than Metabo-Shark (1800). Next he played Dark World Lightning, which let him choose one of Miyu's facedown cards to destroy in exchange for discarding a card from his own hand.

"I'll activate that card," Miyu countered. "Fish Depth Charge lets me Tribute my Metabo-Shark to destroy Sillva, plus I draw one card."

Justin continued to summon another copy of Sillva, Warlord of Dark World (5/2300/1400) upon discarding it for Dark World Lightning's effect. He finally used his Normal summon to play Dark Resonator (3/1300/300). Justin ignored Miyu's other facedown card and sent both his monsters to attack before setting two cards. Miyu 8000 – 2300 – 1300 = 4400: Justin 8000.

Miyu took a big hit, but at least she didn't lose in one turn. And Justin had no more cards in his hand; he was unlikely to play any more Dark World monsters soon. Now was as good a time as any to use her OTK strategy.

"I'll activate Star Blast and pay 1500 Life Points to reduce by three stars the level of my Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth (-4/2800/2200). By discarding one card from my hand, Coelacanth summons up to four fish-type monsters from my deck; I'll summon two Royal Swamp Eel (4/1700/1200), Golden Flying Fish (4/1700/1000), and Oyster Meister (3/1600/200). Royal Swamp Eel is a tuner monster, so let's start tuning.

"First Royal Swamp Eel (4) tunes with Oyster Meister (3) to summon Dark Strike Fighter (7/2600/1800). When Oyster Meister is removed from the field, I get to summon an Oyster Token (1/0/0) in its place. Golden Flying Fish's effect lets me Tribute that Oyster Token to destroy your Dark Resonator."

But Justin was ready for that. He activated Urgent Tuning, a trap that let him tune his Dark Resonator (3) to Sillva (5) to summon Red Dragon Archfiend (8/3000/2000), one of the cards revered by many to be one of the legendary Five Dragons. Many stories of mystery abound, but no one is certain why the Five Dragons are considered so mystical. For now, the Red Dragon Archfiend (3000) was simply bigger than Miyu's monsters, but she could get around that.

"I'll further tune Royal Swamp Eel (4) to Golden Flying Fish (4) to summon Avenging Knight Parshath (8/2600/2100). When Avenging Knight Parshath (2600) attacks, your monster switches to defense mode; Parshath (2600) also deals piercing damage to your Archfiend Dragon (2000). Now Coelacanth (2800) and Dark Strike Fighter (2600) can attack directly."

Before her monsters really _could_ attack directly, Justin activated Call of the Haunted on his Red Dragon Archfiend (3000) to protect his Life Points.

Now Miyu worried about the fact that she had no choice but to give Justin another turn. All she had was one card to put facedown. Miyu 4400: Justin 8000 – 600 = 7400.

"You were always good," she confessed, "but you seem to be off the charts now. It was foolish of me to think I could beat you. I thought maybe all that time with theory and training to control your god card would dull your other skills, but that does not seem to be the case."

As if the Shadows themselves gave Justin a victory, he played Pot of Greed to draw two cards; when he did, a burst of energy almost knocked Miyu off her feet. Justin summoned Phantom Skyblaster (4/1100/800), and the effect let him summon one Skyblaster Token (4/500/500) per monster already on his field. That gave him three fiends—two Skyblaster Tokens and Phantom Skyblaster—to Tribute for the Special Summon of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (10/4000/4000).

"Your god card," Miyu commented as she gazed upon the massive, blue form of the beast. "That's why you left us… and me."

Without any emotional attachment at all, Justin activated Raviel's ability; by Tributing the Red Dragon Archfiend (3000), the Lord of Phantasms (+7000) gained all those attack points. One attack on either of Miyu's Synchro monsters was enough damage to end the duel. Miyu 4400 – 4400 = 0: Justin 7400.

Miyu fell to her knees before passing out. The last thing she saw was Justin's unrelenting face, not remorseful in the slightest for draining the aura of his ex-girlfriend.

"Haruki…" she thought internally. "…You can't beat him…"

* * *

I'd like to say "hi" to both my fans. How you guys doing?  
Tiramisu, I know this particular story seemed a little abrupt, but remember there was a whole other arc of character development. At least stuff didn't start until halfway through the semester. I have to stretch certain aspects of reality a tad in order to have a story at all, but I'm trying to keep them real enough. Anyone willing to venture a guess about the deal with Alpha and Omega? I would love some feedback to hear if I'm even building a moderate amount of suspense.

(In case you're unaware of it, I used the brand new effect monster version of Ra during this chapter. Slifer is the only one I'm potentially using incorrectly at this point.)

There wasn't a lot of story in this chapter, but there were little bits of character development and I wanted to let someone from each of the school's major clubs have a duel before they all graduate. Some characters have really cool decks, but the story just doesn't lend itself to seeing everyone duel all the time (refer to Chapter 2 of this arc for an example of what happens when I try to hard to make someone duel). The next chapter will tell Justin's life story in a nutshell.

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
__Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	9. Return of the Shadows

Chapter 9: Return of the Shadows

When Cary came back in the morning, there was a widespread ruckus. Everyone thought maybe she was able to defeat one of the Guardian Duelers and retrieve a god card; after all, no one else who went out at night ever came back conscious. Dr. Nagell checked Cary's vitals—particularly her heart, brain, and lungs—and said she seemed fine, despite the fact that she ignored the faculty warnings and wandered outside the gym last night.

But Cary could hardly even speak. She was ashamed of the fact that she was frozen in fear as she watched Andy take Junichi's spirit into the Shadow Realm and leave his nearly lifeless body behind. The thing even more embarrassing was not knowing: _Why didn't he try to duel me?_ Cary hated being the center of attention in this situation because it simply accented her shortcomings. She managed to survive whatever shadow magic knocked Junichi unconscious, but not because of anything she did; she just wasn't affected, and she assumed it was luck or maybe that Andy was tired by that time of night. Now that she had time to reflect on the situation, she wished she had been brave enough to challenge Andy, even if she would have lost.

"This is getting ridiculous," Matt confessed. "Magic or not, we have to do something to stop this. I'm going to talk to Dr. West."

The only staff members left on campus were Dr. West, Dr. Lankford, Dr. Kerr, Dr. Apple, former-Sgt. Baker, Dr. Nagell, and any police, housing, or dining staff who worked day shifts during the past weeks. The primary professors were gathered in one of the gym's conference rooms to discuss the state of the Academy.

"Has anyone seen Maya?" Dr. West asked.

"Not in a few days," Dr. Apple answered. Being the other Yellow Dorm advisor, he was most likely to know where she was, but shortly _after_ the students started falling ill, she vanished as well. "She may be among the people who fell ill away from campus buildings." A handful of students were currently unaccounted for and assumed to be unconscious somewhere unnoticed on the island.

"We could be on our own, then," Dr. Kerr suggested. "She was our resident expert on the mystical history of the god cards. That's why she was placed in charge of the Guardian house. Perhaps that knowledge is why she tried to confront the Guardians; she thought she could beat them."

"Perhaps so," Dr. West agreed. "If Maya was unable to defeat the Guardians, and we lost Dave to the Shadows… We are out of options. There may be no way to defeat them and retrieve the god cards."

That's the point at which Matt entered the room, ignoring the closed door. He didn't hear the whole conversation, but he overheard Dr. West's recent comment.

"They're not infallible duelists," Matt pointed out. "I've beaten Lucy before, and I know Bryan beat Erica once. I've definitely beaten Bryan before, and I'm willing to bet it's not a big stretch to think I might be able to beat the Guard Trio, too."

"What are you doing here?" Dr. Lankford asked. "We closed the door for a reason." Dr. West told him it was okay; Matt could provide insight from a student's perspective, and he had every right to be worried about the Guardian Duelers because they were among his closest friends.

Dr. Kerr explained to him, "The stories of the god cards tapping into the Shadow Realm are true. That gives the gods incredible power, which they transfer into their owners."

"I don't believe in that," Matt said. "It still comes down to luck of the draw."

Dr. Lankford chuckled with slight amusement. "I understand your perspective. Believe me; my family wrote the book on denying the existence of magic duel monsters. But we passed down the stories, anyway. These god cards are still the vessels of ancient magic; that magic gives their users incredible stores of _duel energy_, which can be transferred into the deck to give the user helpful cards at exactly the right time. And these events only lend credence to the stories."

"I'm afraid there's no other choice anymore," Dr. West said. "I have to send all the students elsewhere, even if they can't go home. As long as they are here, they're in danger."

Matt scoffed loudly. "Where am I going to go? Bryan's the closest thing I've got to family."

Dr. West knew that Matt was a scholarship student and that he was coming from a family that did not include his biological parents, but because Baker knew his student best, he was the only one who knew that Matt was one of the unlucky children in the foster care system who never got adopted by a real family. When he met Bryan and learned about Duel Monsters, he applied for the Arbus Scholarship as his way to get away from his abusive foster father and find a real home.

"I understand your plight," Baker said, "but it's most important that you keep yourself safe. We'll find a way to rescue your friends."

Matt laughed. "Let me rephrase that. If you try to send me 'home,' I'm checking into a hotel in Kazuki and staying here anyway." Dr. Kerr understood Matt's clear attachment to his best friend and the pride that wouldn't let him run away; Baker was ready to bemoan Matt's stubbornness. Neither got a chance to speak before Matt added, "Besides, Cary saw Andy last night and she's not 'in the Shadow Realm' or whatever." He even did the air quotes when he spoke.

"What was that?" Dr. Kerr asked. Matt told them that Cary came back to the gym not long ago and said that she saw Junichi lose a duel to Andy and fall into a coma. Dr. Nagell said _she's_ fine, though, except that she's disappointed she was too scared to challenge Andy herself.

"Cary was within the reach of a god card—Ra, no less—and didn't fall prey to the Shadows?" Dr. Apple noted. "Perhaps the gods are not as powerful yet as we thought they were."

"That certainly suggests they are beatable," Dr. West said. "She's the lucky one. If she had challenged him, we would certainly have lost her, too. But perhaps there is still a way to take back the god cards and undo the damage they've caused." He looked at the other faculty members with an expression that struck Matt as another language. "I'll stay here and watch over the students."

Matt was confused. "Wait. What'd I miss? What's the joke?"

Dr. Apple put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "Take me to Cary," he requested. "I want to see for myself that she's okay."

When Dr. Apple led Matt away from the conference room, the professors went to work figuring out their game plan. According to the rumors, the Guardians migrate at night to stalk their prey, but during they day, they likely had their own hiding places that stayed constant within a certain comfort zone; how else could they have avoided detection for two weeks? All they had to do was take what they knew about each student and translate that into a hiding place.

Baker was the first to realize, "I think I know where to find Justin…"

----------

Justin Nussbaum was part of a big family. He had three younger brothers, two of them twins. As the oldest, Justin got all the first toys and was often the object of admiration of his brothers: Jared, Jeremy, and Josh—yes, his parents were _that_ kind of people.

Jeff Nussbaum, the boys' father, was _almost_ a champion duelist. He routinely placed in the top eight at regional tournaments, but that seemed to be his limit. He was never able to go pro and so he kept his job working as an editor for a big contracting company in order to support his wife Joy and their kids.

But Jeff passed that dream on to his kids. On his eighth birthday, Justin received his father's old deck. It was an Archfiend-themed deck, and although it never won a championship tournament, it was a deck with a lot of potential and some high-powered monsters. Justin's brothers were in awe of the cards and became jealous that Justin got to have them just because he was the oldest.

"How come Justin gets your cards?" Josh complained.

Jared scoffed. "Who cares? They're crappy cards."

"Jared!" his mother reprimanded him.

"What? They _are_ crappy. They never won a tournament."

Jeff chuckled. "That's true. I never was able to use these cards as effectively as they could be used. But Justin has expressed an interest in my old deck, so I thought it'd be best to give them to him. Maybe he can finally win a tournament where I was never good enough."

Justin smiled at the cards and said, "Oh, you bet I will."

And so Justin began training rigorously with his new Archfiend deck. He worked through all the card combos and strategies he could come up with, but Archfiends are expensive cards to keep on the field and he often had a difficult time keeping his Life Points up. When he dueled against his friends, he frequently lost the duels by his own monsters' maintenance costs.

"These cards are tough to win with," he noted. "No wonder Dad never got a championship title. Maybe I should forget about these cards and go back to my first deck."

But Josh was still young enough to idealize his father's cards. He told Justin, "You can't get rid of those cards. Dad worked hard on that deck. It's got his heart."

Justin smiled and shook off his brother's idealism. "I admire Dad's work, but a lot of the reason he never became a champion is this deck is really hard to use. I need to use different cards in order to win."

"You can't!" Josh insisted and tried to take the deck from his brother. Justin moved the cards away, though, and proceeded to hold Josh at bay by pushing against his forehead with an outstretched arm.

"Don't have a cow," he said with a laugh. "I'll give it a try."

Justin took his father's deck to a local tournament first; he wanted to compare its quality of play to the average kid in the city before trying to take on someone in the region. He placed fourth, which was barely good enough for a prize of one booster pack. But he didn't have high expectations, so he gladly accepted the booster pack.

He found Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World.

"That's a good card," Jeremy commented. "You can put that in Dad's deck, too, because it's also a fiend."

"Yeah. Plus, it's easy to summon and it could hurt those kids who like to force discards from my hand."

It didn't take long for Goldd to become Justin's favorite card in his deck. In addition to its ability to Special Summon itself or destroy the opponent's cards, it didn't cost Life Points to play. Goldd was easily the standout card in Justin's deck. In fact, switching Goldd into the deck allowed Justin to finish in first place in a local tournament; his prize was four more booster packs, which netted him a few Dark World support cards. Justin decided then to keep searching for Dark World cards and building such a deck.

As Justin merged his father's deck with his Dark World idea, he began to win more often. He even managed to place at the regional tournament. Jeff was pleased that Justin was doing so much better than he ever did, and so the two often spent time together going over deck changes as Jeff enjoyed a little bit of his vicarious life.

But Josh was disappointed by the level of attention _he_ received during this time period. Jeff seemed to favor Justin because of the cards, and Justin was always so busy meeting new duelists and improving his own skills; neither spent much time with Josh anymore.

Josh burst into Justin's room one afternoon and excitedly requested, "Teach me how to duel."

Justin pushed his little brother aside and said, "You already know how to duel."

"But you're better at it. Help me learn how to win."

"Winning isn't something you learn. It comes with practice, strategy, and a whole lot of luck."

"Teach me strategy, then."

Justin was pleased with his brother's enthusiasm, but he was busy with his own ambitions. "I don't have time right now. I'll help you when I get some free time."

----------

Baker found Justin inside the tech center. Because of everything that happened during the past several days, only a few technicians were ever on duty during the day. Justin had plenty of places to hide inside and plenty of food to raid in the snack lounge. Baker found him in his old office, perhaps an effective hiding place because of how obvious it was. He wore black clothes and a black cloak, but the hood didn't cover his head. He may have been sleeping, though he was awake and ready for Baker by the time the Red professor stepped through the door.

"I thought I'd find you here," Baker spoke. He was suddenly hit with a wave of shadows—air so heavy he heard the steady hum of the equipment in the building turn erratic. The wave was fleeting, though, as it might be if Justin just awoke. If he was groggy, that would make things all the easier for Baker.

"You were the one who sent Mitch and Karla to the Shadow Realm, aren't you?" Justin didn't speak; Baker continued the conversation without him. "Were you ever really kidnapped, or are you the maestro behind this whole debacle?"

Justin was still silent, but he activated his Duel Disk and launched the hologram projectors into the corners of the office.

"Here's what I think," Baker said. "You found out about the weakening seal on the god cards and realized your best chance to get them all for yourself was to attack early and in disguise to disorient your friends. Then you realized that even though the Shadow Realm is a vast source of energy, you can always get more by feeding other people to it."

Ignoring his opponent's words, Justin drew his cards first.

"You don't have to say anything. I'll let your cards do the talking." Baker activated his Duel Disk and drew his own cards.

Justin started by setting two cards and summoning Dark Resonator (3/1300/300). A cloaked imp bearing a large tuning fork appeared before him.

"Dark Resonator," Baker commented. "I'll still take the early lead by summoning Goblin Attack Force (4/2300/0) and using them to attack." His squad of eight, armored, green-skinned goblins landed several attacks to the Dark Resonator, but Justin's monster had an effect that let it resist destruction by battle once per turn, meaning Justin still had a monster on his field. "My monster switches to defense mode after battle," Baker noted. "I'll end my turn with one facedown card." Baker 8000: Justin 8000 – 1000 = 7000.

Justin activated Dark World Dealings; a Dark World apparition appeared on the field and allowed each player draw a card and then discard a card. Baker had an idea to prevent the activation of his Dark World monsters, though.

"I'll play Macro Cosmos, a Continuous Trap that forces all cards sent to the Graveyard to be removed from play instead." A pentacle symbol appeared on the floor with large, white dots at each point.

Justin countered with his facedown Imperial Iron Wall, a Continuous Trap; a large steel wall appeared around the playing field to prevent monsters from being removed from play. He further activated Forced Requisition, which forced Baker to discard every time Justin did, meaning _two_ cards for Dark World Dealings. Justin's discard resulted in Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World (5/2300/1400), a tall, muscular demon equipped with gold armor and a gold partisan. The Dark Resonator (1300) rang its tuning fork and destroyed the Goblin Attack Force (0), then Goldd (2300) attacked directly with its partisan. He set one more card on the field and activated the effect of his tuner monster to tune Dark Resonator (3) with Goldd (5) to summon the Synchro monster Thought Ruler Archfiend (8/2700/2300), a large, green archfiend with gold-colored joints and claws. Baker 8000 – 2300 = 5700: Justin 7000.

A grin appeared in the corner of Baker's lips. "One of your father's Archfiends, I take it. That makes me feel bad about destroying it. I'll start with Heavy Storm to destroy all our spells and traps." A wicked whirlwind in the center of the field began to draw in all facedown spells and traps.

Justin activated his trap called Dark Deal. An apparition of a cloaked demon stood in front of Justin and emitted a dark aura to change the effect of Baker's spell; now Baker's opponent discards one card randomly from his hand in exchange for 1000 of Justin's LP. Justin discarded and subsequently summoned Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World (8/2500/1800), a demon just like Goldd with larger horns, prismatic wings, and a spear in hand; the effect of being summoned after the opponent discarded it allowed Reign-Beaux to destroy Baker's Macro Cosmos trap card.

"I'll set one card and summon Beast King Barbaros (8/-1900/1200) without Tributes by his special effect." Baker's monster—with the torso of a man bearing a lance and shield and the lower body of a panther—originally appeared larger than Reign-Beaux, but it quickly shrunk until it was a foot shorter. Baker 5700: Justin 7000 – 1000 = 6000.

Justin drew and activated Gateway to Dark World to summon Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World (5/2300/1400) from the Graveyard. Then he charged Thought Ruler Archfiend (2700) with attacking Barbaros (1900). The Archfiend unleashed a psychic attack without making contact with Baker's monster.

"I'll activate the heart of my deck: Skill Drain." The aura of every effect monster on the field began to withdraw as if the creature were melting. "For 1000 LP, my card negates the effects of any and every monster on the field. Barbaros (+3000) returns to his original attack power, meaning your Archfiend's (2700) attack backfires." The psychic attack bounced off of Barbaros's muscular chest and struck Justin's Archfiend instead. Baker 5700 – 1000 = 4700: Justin 6000 – 300 = 5700.

Baker paused for a moment before making his next move. "Do you remember what you told me before? You said you regretted neglecting your brother for your ambition. You felt like it was your fault he lost interest in dueling. Do you remember that conversation?"

Justin didn't respond.

"You said your brother was your biggest fan, yet you never spent any time helping him duel the way you promised you would. You became one of the best young duelists in the world, but you said you might be willing to trade it to regain your brother's admiration."

Justin still had nothing to add.

"Now you've decided to pursue the absolute power hidden within the god cards?" He scoffed. "That doesn't sound like you at all. Tell me who is behind this. Who kidnapped and brainwashed you?"

When Justin still gave no reply, Baker decided, "Fine. We'll just finish the duel and dispel the shadows.

"I'll summon Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast (7/2800/2000)." His Beast King was joined by a tank shaped like a dragon with turrets on the head. "It can be summoned from my hand in exchange for cutting its points, but Skill Drain prevents the cut. I'll also play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card." A whirlpool appeared beneath Justin's card and sucked it off the field. "Fusilier Dragon (2800) will destroy Goldd (2300) and Barbaros (3000) will destroy Reign-Beaux (2500)." Fusilier Dragon began firing energy blasts from its turrets and Barbaros stabbed Reign-Beaux with his lance. "I'll set one more card and end my turn." Baker 4700: Justin 5700 – 500 – 500 = 4700.

Justin drew and immediately summoned Kuriboh (1/300/200)—a well known fluff ball with purple eyes—then he activated Multiply to summon five Kuriboh Tokens (1/300/200) to his field, each an exact copy of Kuriboh. Then he sent three of them to the Graveyard to summon Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (10/4000/4000). Raviel's massive blue form, with its transparent wings and violet muscles, seemed to occupy Justin's entire field. Even with Skill Drain on the field to negate Raviel's effects, Raviel (4000) was one of the strongest monsters in the game and a tough monster to beat. He launched an attack on Barbaros (3000). Baker 4700 – 1000 = 3700: Justin 4700.

Baker was hoping to end the duel before seeing Raviel; undoubtedly Justin kept the Kuriboh strategy as an option for just such an occasion, even if he rarely used it.

"I'll place a monster in defense mode and switch Fusilier Dragon (2000) as well."

Justin drew and sent Raviel (4000) to destroy Fusilier Dragon (2000). He made no other moves, a fairly common sight when two duelists each run low on cards in-hand.

"I'll set another card and end my turn."

Justin summoned Brron, Mad King of Dark World (4/1800/400), a purple, lanky demon whose arms were wrapped in chains. Justin sent Raviel (4000) to attack Baker's monster, a facedown Chainsaw Insect (4/2400/0). With Baker's field open, Justin attacked directly with Brron (1800). Brron's holographic attack involved breaking the chains binding his arms with brute strength before he could strike Baker. Skill Drain negated Brron's ability to let Justin discard, however, and so Justin had no choice but to end his turn. Baker 3700 – 1800 = 1900: Justin 4700.

When Baker drew, he finally cracked a grin. "I'll activate Monster Reborn to summon Beast Machine King Barbaros Ur (8/3800/1200)." His Beast King reappeared on the field, this time with purple skin and a thicker mane, and he was armed with pieces from a red machine monster. Now I'll attack Raviel (4000) with him and throw in Shrink, a spell that cuts Raviel's (-2000) points in half."

The massive, machine-coated Beast King mauled the shrunken, blue phantom, and the ensuing explosion caused the air to lighten significantly. Justin stumbled into his desk and had trouble standing.

"That ends my turn." Baker 1900: Justin 4700 – 1800 = 2900.

Justin was disoriented by the loss of his god card. His eyes filled with their usual blue color and he felt like he could see for the first time in ages. What he saw was a picture on his desk of his brothers. All four of them—Justin included—were wrestling over a fumble during a friendly game of football.

Whatever was stirring inside Justin right then, he was still driven to win the duel. Having no cards to play, he switched Brron (400) to defense mode and ended his turn.

"It looks like you're almost there," Baker commented. "I'll activate my facedown Final Attack Orders to force all your monsters into attack mode. When Barbaros Ur (3800) destroys a Kuriboh Token (300), the duel is over." Baker 1900: Justin 2900 – 3500 = 0.

Justin passed out and knocked his head on the edge of his desk. Baker checked him for bleeding, but he just had a knot; however, his Duel Disk burst with a small flame that consumed Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. The flame disappeared as quickly as it appeared, taking Raviel with it.

"What was that?"

----------

Another cloaked figure waited in the basement of the Red Dorm, the room with the freshman duel terminal and a few wooden stands for spectators. The figure slept on the stands until just a moment ago; the small body frame allowed reasonable comfort in the stands. She awoke and prepared her deck when she detected the approach of someone with a great deal of spiritual energy.

Dr. Kerr stepped into the room with her own Duel Disk on her right arm.

"I thought I might find you here, Erica."

The cloaked figure looked up sharply, a menacing expression visible underneath her hood.

* * *

_It turns out the Guardian Duelers are behind the Shadow Realm attacks on campus. But how, and why? It seems Sgt. Baker beat Justin, but will Dr. Kerr have the same luck against Erica? Find out next time._

_I decided to try describing the cards in this duel instead of just describing the use. I would like some feedback on this. Does it help the story? Does it do nothing? Did it sound forced here and you'd like me to try a little harder next time even if it means delaying a post by a day?  
It occurred to me the part that's less exciting about writing a Yu-Gi-Oh! story is the action. The monsters don't really get to put up a fight; the monster with higher points wins a battle regardless of fighting style. I'm certainly not interested in making up goofy rules like get used in the original Magic and Wizards version of dueling (e.g., magic attacks don't work on machines)._

_As far as the story goes, I hope this is getting interesting. This was a lot of fun to write, and I've already started the next chapter. I'm not wild about spending so much time away from my primary heroes, but I thought it necessary to spend some time talking about the Guardian Duelers and their motives for dueling, especially because these guys will graduate at the end of the semester if they survive the Shadow Realm. I thought the idea of the teachers confronting the strongest duelists at the Academy was an awesome idea. To build a tiny amount of suspense, however, I'll point out that I have only three dueling professors and six Guardian Duelers; they can't do everything themselves._


	10. Dueling is Such a Boys Club

Chapter 10: Dueling is Such a Boys Club

Sasha Kerr wore her red jacket over her white blouse and red skirt. She was still young and looked even younger, and so the real distinguishing feature between her and the female students was that Dr. Kerr's skirt reached the tops of her knees whereas the average student's skirt stopped halfway down the thigh.

In her youth, Dr. Kerr never had to deal with the crazy affections guys would show Erica. Pick-up lines were not uncommon for either woman to hear, but Erica was a mix of European and Chinese descent and so was seen by men of all ages as an exotic beauty, even though her family lived in the country for more than a hundred years. Her genetics granted her a symmetrical face and a petite, beautiful body, and that alone netted her a dozen guys hitting on her per week, but then her exotic flair doubled the number.

Until she found her future husband, Sasha often took advantage of her own beauty to coast her way through undergraduate school. She had a nice complexion and a great build, plus she was the athletic type, although she never did organized sports with the exception of intramural sports at her college recreation center. She was the type of woman who was rarely without a boyfriend, something she wasn't proud of in hindsight. Sasha often wished she had spent a little bit of time on her own; perhaps she might have matured more quickly.

Instead, Sasha went through a dozen bad relationships as she worked her way through graduate school, and she found herself working harder as a way to avoid dealing with the frustrations and issues related to men. She finally got lucky when she met the man she would marry. He helped her find the stability and grounding she needed to finish her dissertation.

Yet Erica intentionally spent time alone, without a boyfriend, to focus on her career. Sasha always envied Erica for her strong will.

"You're not in control, are you?" Sasha asked Erica. She got no response from her cloaked, former student. "You are much too intelligent and down-to-earth to join a plot to drain the energy from your friends voluntarily."

Erica activated her Duel Disk and released a wave of shadow energy. Sasha endured the worst of it, then activated her own Duel Disk as a way to show her acceptance of the challenge.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" She looked around the room and remembered what it was like three years ago when Erica was a freshman, trying to get all the knowledge and training she could out of Sasha. For that entire year and much of the following year, the two logged hours of dueling against one another. They often exchanged decks and helped each other make deck changes in order to gain experience playing against their own decks, a great way to spot weaknesses in their own strategies. They even spent time dueling with decks they built from scratch in order to get a variety of card exposure and learn how to strategize with only the cards in hand.

"We spent so much time training together because you came to me and disagreed with how things tend to work around here."

----------

"_What's the problem?" Sasha asked. "Are you having trouble in some of your classes?"_

"_No," Erica complained. "It's just that Duel Monsters is such a boys' club. I sometimes wonder how I even got into this school."_

_Sasha couldn't help but agree. Most of the time, guys are the ones who spend their time dueling, perhaps because men are prone to competitive behavior and women are prone to be more social; men enjoy the strategy and dominance of the game whereas women enjoy meeting and getting to know other duelists._

"_Well, I want to win," Erica said. "I can't let the boys have all the glory just because there's more of them. Even the Guardian Duelers are all boys."_

"_You're right, but there have been female Guardians before."_

"_I know, but there aren't any now. It's not fair."_

"_Unfortunately," Sasha argued, "it _is_ fair, but only because those young men have worked really hard to become Guardians. It's certainly unbalanced, though, and I agree that there should be more female Guardians."_

"_Will you help me become one?"_

_Sasha smiled. "I would be proud to see you become a Guardian Dueler. Do you know which card you want?"_

_Erica nodded. "I can probably fit any of them into my deck relatively easily, but the easiest, by far, is Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder."_

"_Is that so? You use a lot of Continuous Spells, do you?"_

----------

Erica started the duel by setting a monster and a card.

Sasha started the duel with a large turtle whose shell emitted bright lights. "I'll summon UFO Turtle (4/1400/1200) and attack your monster." The UFO Turtle withdrew into its shell, hovered over Erica's monster, and fired a beam of light. Erica revealed her Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise (3/600/2000), a much frailer-looking reptile with the exception of its gemmed shell, which reflected much of Sasha's attack back at her. "I'll set two cards." Kerr 8000 – 600 = 7400: Erica 8000.

Erica summoned Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (4/1800/1200), a white horse whose wings were studded with sapphires, and used its effect to put Cobalt Eagle in her spell/trap zone as a Continuous Spell card; it appeared as a large, blue gem. Erica had Sapphire Pegasus (1800) attack UFO Turtle (1400). The winged unicorn gored the turtle with its sapphire horn.

"I'll activate Backfire," Sasha countered. A spray of fire burst from her turtle's shell and engulfed the Sapphire Pegasus. "When you destroy my fire monsters, you get burned for 500 points. And when UFO Turtle is destroyed by battle, I get to summon another UFO Turtle (4/1400/1200) to my field." She replaced her destroyed turtle with an identical one, save the wounds inflicted by the unicorn.

She just grinned when Erica activated Beast Soul Swap. She took Sapphire Pegasus from the field to her hand, then, with the ability to summon another beast-type monster of the same level, summoned it right back; this time she put Amber Mammoth from her deck to her spell/trap zone as a lump of amber-colored gemstone. This was a strategy Sasha taught her, and so she expected it.

Sapphire Pegasus (1800) attacked and destroyed Sasha's second UFO Turtle (1400), and this time she summoned Solar Flare Dragon (4/1500/1000). A large, bright, flaming dragon resembling a solar prominence emerged from the ground. Erica ended her turn there. Kerr 7400 – 400 – 400 = 6600: Erica 8000 – 500 – 500 = 7000.

Sasha also played a combo Erica had seen before. "I'll set a card and summon another Solar Flare Dragon (4/1500/1000)." An identical solar prominence to her first dragon burst from the ground. "When there's another pyro-type monster on my field, you can't target my Dragon, meaning these two protect each other. In addition, during my End Phase, you take 500 points of damage for each Solar Flare Dragon on my field." Both dragons emitted a solar flare that brushed over Erica and inflicted direct damage. Kerr 6600: Erica 7000 – 500 – 500 = 6000.

"Have you got the cards to stop this strategy?"

----------

"_I have trouble sometimes with the low attack power of my monsters," Erica admitted. "They're not that strong, with the exception of Sapphire Pegasus and Topaz Tiger on my turn."_

"_You already know that attack power isn't everything. You've got some great support cards for the Crystal Beasts when they're in your spell/trap zone."_

"_Yes, that's true," Erica started, "but it's harder to get them there against you because you have a tendency to sit back and attack me directly. When you don't destroy my monsters, they don't go into the spell/trap zone."_

_Sasha smiled with amusement. "You'll have to think about some ways to hit me without attacking."_

----------

Erica activated Thunder Crash, a spell that caused a bolt of lightning to destroy each of her monsters—moving Sapphire Pegasus and Emerald Tortoise to her spell/trap zone—before reflecting and inflicting 300 points of damage on Sasha for each monster destroyed.

"You've got four Crystal Beasts on your field. Does that mean you have that card I told you about?"

The next card Erica played was Crystal Abundance. Each of the four gemstones in her spell/trap zone burst and the shards ripped through all of Sasha's cards. Erica sent all four of her Crystal Beasts to the Graveyard to destroy every card on the field, and then she summoned as many Crystal Beasts from her Graveyard as the number of Sasha's cards she destroyed. Erica played Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (4/1700/1000)—a six-tusked mammoth with an amber gemstone in its forehead—Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle (4/1400/800)—a large bird with a golden crest and cobalt blue gemstones on its breast and wings—and Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (4/1800/1200). Using Sapphire Pegasus's effect, Erica further took Amethyst Cat from her deck to her spell/trap zone as a lavender gemstone. She also summoned Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (4/1600/1000) to the field. A saber-toothed tiger with additional sabers on its ankles and forehead, plus a topaz gemstone on its neck, appeared on the field. She additionally set one more card.

Erica's swarm was stumped by the activation of Sasha's Waboku trap card before Crystal Abundance resolved. Three robed maidens stood in front of Sasha. That trap, which she set in anticipation of Erica's play, prevented Sasha from taking any battle damage during the turn. Erica ended her turn by using Cobalt Eagle's effect to place Sapphire Pegasus on top of her deck. Kerr 6600 – 600 = 6000: Erica 6000.

"That was a close one, wasn't it? We've each had our share of those throughout our training careers. We'll probably have a few more during this duel."

Erica didn't respond.

"I'll just set one monster and see what you've got."

Erica drew and summoned Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (4/1800/1200), using its effect to place Ruby Carbuncle in her spell/trap zone as a ruby gemstone. Then she smiled and spread another wave of shadows from her Duel Disk.

"Is this the answer you found to the weakness of the Crystal Beasts?"

The next card Erica played was a white dragon big enough to fill the field, shining in all colors of the rainbow. The Rainbow Dragon (10/4000/0) was the ultimate monster for the Crystal Beast deck. It could be Special Summoned if Erica's field and Graveyard contained all seven Crystal Beasts: Sapphire, Amber, Cobalt, Topaz, Amethyst, and Ruby were on her field; Emerald was in the Graveyard.

"The strongest non-fusion dragon in the game," Sasha noted. "You were so proud the first time you used it to defeat me in a duel. I told you it reminded me of you: stronger than its peers. Just like you, the Rainbow Dragon is a standout card able to topple the most challenging of foes."

The Rainbow Dragon launched a devastating attack against Sasha's monster in order to leave the field wide open for a direct onslaught by the Crystal Beasts. Although the attack made a dent in Sasha's pink monster, her monster quickly popped back into position without ever losing the smile on its upside-down face.

"My malleable monster is called Marshmallon (3/300/500). It's never destroyed in battle, and because you attacked it while it was facedown, you take 1000 points of direct damage."

Before ending her turn, Erica switched her Amber Mammoth (1000) to defense mode. Kerr 6000: Erica 6000 – 1000 = 5000.

Sasha played a monster resembling a small, blue imp with its head and arms on fire and equipped with an elaborate, purple cape. "I'll summon Fire Trooper (3/1000/1000) and Tribute it to deal 1000 points more damage to you." The imp leaped at Erica and burst entirely into flame. Kerr 6000: Erica 5000 – 1000 = 4000.

Erica drew and activated her Rainbow Dragon's special ability; by sending all her Crystal Beasts to the Graveyard, she could empower her Rainbow Dragon (+10,000) by 1000 AP per Crystal Beast. The Rainbow Dragon grew bigger and the lights it emitted grew brighter until it reached the maximum capacity of the hologram projectors.

"You strengthened it," Sasha noted. "Did you draw a card to give your dragon a piercing effect?" She sounded worried because a piercing effect would end the duel in Erica's favor.

She lucked out, though. Erica simply needed more monsters in her Graveyard to activate Pot of Avarice, a large, jeweled pot with a goofy grin and snot dripping from its nose; she put five of her monsters back in her deck, shuffled, and drew two cards. She activated Crystal Blessing; a sapphire stone appeared on the field and emitted a glow, drawing Emerald Tortoise and Ruby Carbuncle—a small, catlike creature with four ears, garnet-colored eyes, and a ruby gemstone on its tail—from the Graveyard into her spell/trap zone. Erica then ended her turn.

"I obviously can't attack your monster like that," Sasha said jokingly. "Even Kevin's dragon couldn't beat that. I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards…" Her field showed a pot with the same goofy grin as Erica's pot, but no jewels or snot. "…and still all I've got is to set one card."

Erica made a move Sasha didn't expect; she sent Rainbow Dragon to the Graveyard as a Tribute to summon Gravi-Crush Dragon (6/2400/1200). A bipedal dragon appeared on her field with arms and legs two sizes bigger than its torso. She activated its effect by sending her Ruby Carbuncle to the Graveyard to let her Dragon destroy Sasha's Marshmallon by slamming its massive fist on the pink blob, following through by whipping its tail at Sasha for a direct attack. Kerr 6000 – 2400 = 3600: Erica 4000.

"Impressive," Sasha admitted. "You were willing to admit that your ultimate dragon wasn't able to defeat my defensive monster and so you found one that could. That's something many duelists can't bring themselves to do. After all, if I were to summon a stronger monster than yours, most duelists would feel guilty about losing the bigger monster."

Sasha drew anxiously, then sighed when she looked at her card. "It's not what I was hoping for, but it will work. I'll set a monster and end my turn."

Erica drew and eagerly played Graceful Charity. An angelic being allowed her to draw three cards and discard two. Erica sent Gravi-Crush Dragon (2400) to attack without using its effect first. Her monster's fist collided with a pair of eyes attached to something unseen.

"You've destroyed The Thing in the Crater (4/1000/1200)," Sasha said, "but now I'm curious of your strategy. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, when you destroyed my monster, you let me Special Summon a Volcanic Slicer (4/1800/1200) in defense mode." Her monster resembled a dinosaur encased entirely in a bronze shell.

Erica set one card and ended her turn.

"One facedown card? I wonder if you might be trying to summon your god card now. I hope I can be ready in time." Sasha drew and looked at her cards. "I'll summon my third and final Solar Flare Dragon (4/1500/1000). I'll use Volcanic Slicer's effect to deal 500 points of damage to you, then during my End Phase, Solar Flare Dragon will deal 500 more." Volcanic Slicer spit out a molten mass and Solar Flare Dragon emitted another solar flare. Kerr 3600: Erica 4000 – 500 – 500 = 3000.

As soon as Erica's turn began, a more prolonged wave of shadows pervaded the room and threatened to knock Sasha unconscious. Erica activated her facedown Crystal Counter to destroy all her spells and traps, then place all three Crystal Beasts from her Graveyard into her spell/trap zone. She just as quickly sent them back to the Graveyard to summon Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (10/4000/4000). Her field filled with an enormous, golden-colored, skeletal creature with bat-like wings and sharp protrusions on its head, wings, and torso. A bolt of lightning flashed through the air overhead.

"You finally summoned it…"

----------

"_I have a suggestion for you," Sasha said. She and Erica were still training in the basement of the Red Dorm, but Erica long since traded her red skirt for a blue one. They approached the end of Erica's sophomore year, and she felt fully confident that she could beat Hamon's Guardian._

"_What is it?"_

"_I know you really want to take control of Hamon and prove that women can also be great duelists, but you should consider waiting for one more semester."_

_Erica was surprised to hear such words from the professor who had been teaching her how to take and use Hamon._

"_Why wait? I've been training for this purpose, and I'm ready."_

_Sasha mulled the thought for a moment while picking her words carefully. "Do you still just want a god card to prove you can do it?"_

"_That's not the _only_ reason," she said. "I'm also the best, and so I deserve the chance to earn that status officially."_

"_You think Hamon will earn you respect?"_

_She shrugged. "Maybe. I don't really care. What's with the third degree?"_

_Sasha just smiled and confessed, "If you wait another semester to become a Guardian Dueler, I think you are a shoe-in to represent Duel Academy at the School Duel in the fall."_

_Erica's eyes lit up. "Really?" Aside from being the most publicized duel of the school year, the School Duel was definitely a place Erica could figure out how good she really was in comparison to other top duelists. And maybe it would give her a bit of extra confidence when she went after a god card._

"_Okay. I'll wait."_

----------

_Rainbow Dragon (8000) launched the final assault on Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000) and handily ended the duel in Erica's favor. Afterward, Maya Kawamura presented her with the yellow god card and welcomed her into the Guardian house._

"_It'll be nice to have some women around," she admitted silently._

"_It's about time, too," Erica agreed._

_She looked to the stands and found Sasha smiling back at her. Erica finally achieved her goal; she proved that men aren't the only ones with dueling talent._

----------

"I'd love to say 'you've come a long way,' but the truth is, you haven't. You were always one of the best duelists. The only thing that really changed was your status. You were already the most strong-willed student I ever had the pleasure of teaching. That's why I can't believe you would let someone else control you like this!"

Ignoring her former mentor's comments, Erica set a card and launched her attacks. Because Solar Flare Dragon was protected as long as another pyro monster was on the field, Gravi-Crush Dragon (2400) attacked Volcanic Slicer (1200) first. Then Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000) summoned a bolt of lightning to strike Solar Flare Dragon (1500); as a bonus, Hamon inflicted 1000 points of damage to the opponent every time it destroyed a monster in battle. A smaller bolt of lightning struck Sasha from the sky. Kerr 3600 – 2500 – 1000 = 100: Erica 3000.

_That felt real!_ Sasha felt completely drained and almost paralyzed after she was struck with what should have been a hologram. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and regain her senses. _Okay, maybe it wasn't real… I can still move… But that was no hologram._

"Kevin was right about the god cards," she admitted. "Perhaps they do hold a massive energy supply." She climbed back to her feet and forced herself to smile through the pain. "Is that what's controlling you? Are you seriously going to let a single god card take control of your will?"

Erica just stood there.

"Fine. Then I'll just have to help. I'll do it by sending your Gravi-Crush Dragon and Hamon to the Graveyard so I can summon a monster to your field: my Lava Golem (8/3000/2500)."

Hamon seemed to resist the play, but the special effect of Lava Golem dragged Hamon off the field and replaced it with a giant, amorphous, molten creature that encaged Erica. Bits of lava dripped from the creature and sparked on the cage which entrapped Erica.

"That's a big monster I just gave you," Sasha said, "but you won't get the chance to suffer its adverse effects. I just needed it to get rid of Hamon for you. I'll play Owner's Seal, a spell that returns all monsters on the field to their original owners." A mystical symbol appeared on the ground; Lava Golem faded from Erica's back and reappeared behind Sasha, placing the cage around her.

But Erica had a final move, too. She activated Rainbow Gravity; a powerful rainbow emerged from her Graveyard and revived her Rainbow Dragon (10/4000/0), protecting her Life Points from a direct attack by the Lava Golem.

"That's a good move and I'd expect no less from you," Sasha admitted. "But I wasn't planning to attack. I'll activate my facedown Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai." A red-haired, female spellcaster appeared on the field and cast a seal around the field. "This trap lets me Tribute a fire monster on my field to inflict damage to you equal to my monster's original attack points." The magician's seal closed around the Lava Golem, and the result was an explosion into a dozen, raining, molten fireballs that holographically pelted Erica. Kerr 100: Erica 3000 – 3000 = 0.

Another wave of darkness preceded the lifting of the air in the Red Dorm. Everything felt normal again, but Erica passed out on the spot. Still tired from the realistic lightning bolt, Sasha also felt compelled to sleep right there.

A small piece of the Lava Golem remained on Erica's Duel Disk, burning away the card for Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder.

----------

The spotted white deadnettle (also called _Lamium maculatum_) is a flowering plant of the family Lamiaceae. A low-growing plant with chartreuse leaves, the blossoms that bloomed in the spring on Academy Island were white, almost glowing at nighttime when the moonlight struck their little grove. During a cloudy, overcast day like today, however, they were simply white flowers.

Matt first saw these flowers in Lucy's bedroom as a gift from Bryan; she often had flowers sitting in her windowsill. He knew this grove in the woods was the only location on the island to find these flowers. After finding a petal from one of these flowers on Bryan's leather jacket when he disappeared, Matt figured this grove was where he was likely to find his sworn brother.

"Are you here, Bryan?" He tried to peer through the trees beyond the grove, but the dense growth of the trees combined with a gray sky made it tough to see far beyond his current location.

A crunching twig alerted Matt to someone else's presence. He turned slowly to see a cloaked figure, wearing all black and covering much of his face with sunglasses, standing in the grove. Matt recognized the insignia on the Duel Disk, however; it was a circle encompassing a fancily-written letter H, the same as can be seen on the Hero Signal trap card.

"What's going on, bro?"

The cloaked duelist didn't say anything. He simply activated his Duel Disk.

Matt grinned, not realizing that Bryan was under a spell. "You really want to duel? We keep alternating wins, you remember?

"And it's my turn."

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and learning a little about what drives Erica's ambitions. This was a fun duel for me. I feel like I don't use Erica enough, especially considering the Crystal Beasts are not only some of my favorite cards, but probably the strongest overall deck archetype from the GX TV series. Anyway, now two Guardians have been beaten. The next duel is one I'm sure both of you saw coming. How do you think it will end?  
The next chapter won't include a duel, however. I'm going to give some back story on my two primary heroes. It's never desirable to interrupt the action with history, but I think this is the best place for it, story-wise. Besides, anime shows interrupt the action all the time. I hope you enjoy it._

_Last time I mentioned having fewer professors than Guardians. One more thing I'll share is that I do not plan to_ introduce _any duelists to confront my Guardians. All the opponents will be duelists you've already met. I'm sure everyone knew Matt would be one of them. I'm very proud of myself for realizing another student on a competitive level with the Guardians. You'll find out who it is in either Chapter 13 or 14 according to my notes._

_I'm working on my ideas for a third arc. I think I'm going to use a slightly different approach this time. Most of the heroes already introduced--who survive the Shadow Realm--will return as long as they haven't graduated, but I'm going to make them share the focus with a bunch of freshmen. I already have one of them--contributed by Maxim and Knight--but I'm going to need more. My first chapter, when I get there, will include a sort of demographic form for a bunch of reader-submitted original characters. However many I receive will determine how the story goes; I only have the bare-bones plot for this one. The first chapter will go back through descriptions of the returning characters as if they are brand new, but the story will still be a continuation of this one and the previous arc. Maybe that way I can draw in more readers.  
Of course, maybe you folks can help refer a few readers my way when the new arc begins. If they like the way that one goes, they can always come back to read this one._


	11. Sworn Brothers

Chapter 11: Sworn Brothers

When Bryan first moved to the suburbs of Avesta, he was bored out of his mind and hated it. There was a city twenty miles down the highway that was home to the cultural center of the region. The city contained movie theaters, shopping malls, a football stadium and baseball park, paintball fields, laser tag, and hundreds of beautiful teenage girls. The suburban town, on the other hand, had fewer than a thousand people, a movie theater, a recreation center, and a field. And it was far enough away from the city that Bryan couldn't get there during the hours his single mother was at work. Ironically, she worked in the city but opted to commute because the traffic wasn't all that bad and the cost of living was much lower in the suburbs.

High school wasn't a whole lot better. The female half of the student body was incredibly average, although there was the occasional flower he spotted blooming above and beyond the rest. The football team was lackluster at best, and even the marching band had only enough members for the marching show to go from a period to a comma to an apostrophe to a hyphen. Bryan was planning to talk to the coach and discuss joining the football team anyway, mostly because that would help kill time after school.

But perhaps the most memorable thing he saw came on the first day of school during seventh period. He had already claimed his spot by the window and plopped down in the chair when the teacher opened the door to the classroom… and got hit in the head with a wet sponge. Not only was the sponge wet, it was soapy, leaking down her head onto the black sweater she wore over a white blouse. The teacher—a defenseless woman with thick-framed glasses and a classic updo—spent a moment in shock before she dismissed herself and made her way to the bathroom.

Rumblings started throughout the students in the classroom. When everyone finished laughing, the next step was to figure out who did it. Nobody saw anyone put the sponge up there, and no one even knew where the sponge came from. Not everyone laughed, but certainly the majority did; unless it was a group job, laughter wasn't a good clue. Bryan laughed, too, but he knew _he_ wasn't responsible.

There was one student in the classroom whose reaction to the event was less than surprised. At first, there was an almost uniform gasp from every student in the room such that Bryan's ears popped, then the laughter started while everyone was still tense. One small boy, however, didn't crack a grin until _after_ everyone else stopped laughing. Bryan kept that to himself, but he took note of the boy so he could talk to him after class: The boy was a head-and-a-half shorter than Bryan, maybe half his weight, and had thin-framed glasses.

The teacher eventually came back less the sweater and with her curly hair wet and pulled back into a ponytail. She got through most of the lesson and acted as if the prank didn't bother her. She did give a worksheet as homework, even on the first day, to make up for the delay. Now _everyone_ was upset about the prank.

Bryan hurried out of the class when he saw the short suspect leave, but by the time Bryan followed everyone else through the narrow doorway, he lost sight of the short kid. He didn't concern himself too much with it, though, because he knew he'd see the kid again eventually. Instead, he had to go talk to the football coach about a chance to try out.

Coach Taylor was just about the only guy out there who looked like a football player. He was the kind of guy who could easily find himself leading a talented group of high school kids to a state championship year after year, but he apparently upset someone in a past life and found himself stuck at this tiny high school coaching kids with some talent and a lot of mediocrity. In reality, his wife was a business woman in the city and made big money, but she enjoyed what she did so much that Coach Taylor couldn't bear to ask her to move just so he could coach a bigger school.

And that's why Bryan got a tryout on the spot. When the other players emerged from the locker room in full training pads and jerseys, they found Coach Taylor talking to Bryan, a guy who was already almost as tall as the six-foot coach.

"You've obviously got the size," Coach Taylor commented to Bryan. "You're about… what? Five-ten, two hundred pounds?"

"Yeah."

Coach Taylor immediately replied firmly, "_Yes_." He was correcting Bryan's language early. "The last word out of your mouth will always be 'coach.' You got that?"

Bryan was able to push aside his smugness and answer, "Yes, Coach."

"Good. We'll give you a trial run for today. Go talk to Coach Gene over there and get some pads. After practice, we'll go to the weight room and see what you can do there." Bryan was excited about that part. His mom got him a gym membership at their previous residence to give him someplace constructive to go after school, and he spent almost two years learning how to use the weight room equipment from a few of the fitness instructors. That's where most of his size came from already.

"Yes, Coach."

Some of the other players were hesitant to let Bryan come in for fear that he would take over their roles, but most of those fears were easily tossed aside when the players learned that Bryan was a freshman. Bryan was only granted the late tryout because he just moved into town; however, even freshmen with appropriate size and talent can make the team once he proves himself.

Even Bryan had to admit, practice was tough. He got to run a number of plays at the running back and wide receiver positions, taking some really big hits every time. He got to inflict a little bit of return damage on the few plays he tried on defense, first as a lineman and then as a safety. The most annoying part about being a running back was when this one short kid—who alternated between wide receiver and defensive end—spun right around the entire offensive line and plowed into Bryan, taking him straight to the ground. Bryan took note of the fact that this tiny guy everyone called Luther was perhaps the strongest guy out there relative to his size.

By the time Bryan got to the weight room, he felt like he was going to break something if he tried to lift another pound. When he got through with a set of bench press, squats, dead lifts, and power cleans, he sat down on one of the benches and felt like he'd never get back up.

Coach Taylor nodded at him before saying, "You be here first thing in the morning. Seven a.m. sharp, you got it?"

"Yes, Coach," he replied reluctantly. What Bryan didn't realize was that Coach Taylor wore him out during practice on purpose just to see how much Bryan could push himself in the weight room. The fact that Bryan reached 120% of his body weight on every lift when he was exhausted showed Coach Taylor that Bryan had the determination necessary to prove himself as a player. After the first day, he was already impressed with Bryan.

In the morning, Bryan was surprised to find he wasn't the first person there. The short guy from the prank was already in the weight room doing leg extensions. He recognized the guy both from class and from practice, when he kept slamming people into the ground.

"Hey, Luther."

The guy looked at him, but he merely nodded and kept lifting.

Bryan talked to Coach Taylor for a few minutes about what positions he might like to try for. Then the coach gave Bryan a workout to complete that morning and introduced him to Matthew Luther, one of the other freshman players.

"He's short, but you felt it yesterday that he's got a lot of punch." The coach couldn't say anything about it out loud yet, but he was pretty certain Luther would be a starting defensive end and probably double as a wide receiver on offense. He also had ideas to put Bryan on the field as a line backer if he could keep up the pace he set yesterday.

"You're new," Matt said, as if Bryan didn't know that already.

"Nothing gets by you." With an extra grin, he suggested, "Then you must know who pulled that prank with the sponge."

"No idea," he said curtly. He patted the bench press bar and asked, "How much?"

"I'll warm up with 125." Bryan stretched for a moment and lay down to complete a quick set of bench presses. "You didn't pull that prank?"

Matt shook his head. "I don't care who did it. Time for a second set."

Bryan decided to drop the topic for the moment. Matt was being a little smug, but he was interesting, so why spoil his fun? Bryan upped the weight on the bar by fifty pounds and pushed out another set.

"Can you handle this much weight?"

Matt scoffed and pushed him out of the way. He settled on the bench and proceeded to lift the bar straight off the holds to squeeze off eight reps before putting the weight back.

"That's impressive. How much do you weigh?"

"One-twenty. But I can tackle anybody."

"I believe it. I'm still sore from when you hit me yesterday."

"It'll last a week if you're lucky."

"A week? You really think you're that strong?"

"I know where to hit people," Matt explained. "I plan to force at least ten fumbles a game this year if I get the defensive end spot."

"You think you're Dwight Freeney?" He's a defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts and a leader in the NFL in sacks and forced fumbles. "I guess that makes me Gary Brackett." He's a Colts line backer. Bryan loaded another fifty pounds on the bar and squeezed out six reps. Matt finally cracked a grin.

"Okay, Knight. Let's finish that workout."

----------

Bryan and Matt continued to train together every morning in the weight room. Bryan proved himself the standout player on the practice field. His size gave him force, his height gave him intimidation, and his determination is why it took three senior defensive players to tackle him on a running play. Coach Taylor saw no better choice than to make Bryan the starting running back, though he planned to alternate Bryan and his senior running back as a sort of one-two punch.

During the first game, Bryan was the most productive player on the team. Despite the way his offensive line frequently folded under the weight of the stronger players from the Valley high school, he managed to run a hundred yards and three touchdowns. On defense, he snagged two interceptions and made eight tackles. Even though Matt was fairly productive with six sacks and six tackles, he wasn't able to force the fumbles he wanted. He did, though, get sixty receiving yards. With a final victory score of 35-32, it was one of the most impressive season openers their little high school ever had.

Bryan and Matt became closer when they decided that the two of them were basically the heart of the entire football team. It wasn't until the third week of school when another teacher was hit with a prank that Bryan wondered what Matt's thing was. He was certain Matt was responsible, even if he wouldn't admit it, but this time, the victim was not a teacher of any classes Matt took. She pulled down a world map on one of those curtain-like rolls attached to the wall when a cloud of chalk dust covered her head and torso.

"Seriously," Bryan muttered. "You did it, didn't you?"

Matt barely cracked a grin. "What possible gain could I get from pranking a teacher when I couldn't even be there to see it?"

"My guess is you get off on just playing pranks," Bryan answered. "I can't think of any other reason. You couldn't possibly have seen this one, and you barely even seemed to notice the sponge. You obviously don't care about getting credit and you don't care about seeing their reactions. Honestly, I'm not even sure how you set it all up without getting caught."

Matt's grin got a little bit wider. "Maybe it wasn't me." He never did come right out and admit responsibility, or that he enjoys the challenge of the setup.

----------

By the mid-point of the football season, after the first quarter exams, Bryan finally invited Matt home with him so he could introduce his mother. Jackie Knight was very friendly and motherly, and she was especially grateful that Bryan and Matt seemed to click so soon after moving to town. Bryan told her about how Matt was the other useful player on the football team and was the one helping Bryan train and carry out his real, solid workout routine; Bryan helped Matt grow stronger and Matt helped Bryan grow faster.

Jackie was a big fan of Matt's. He was extremely helpful around the house—uncharacteristically so, as far as Bryan knew. He always helped clean the kitchen after dinner and offered his help when Jackie wanted to complete a project around the house. Matt must have stayed over for dinner two dozen times before Bryan realized he'd never even met Matt's parents. When he asked, Matt simply told him that his home wasn't the kind of place to which one invites company.

Bryan accepted that answer until the Homecoming game of their sophomore year. He convinced a few cheerleaders to go with him early in the morning and surprise Matt before school. When they found Matt's house, they were a little surprised to see how tiny and dilapidated it looked. The house wasn't terrible, but the paint job was horrid and there were holes in the porch deck. Even the porch swing was only attached on one side. Broken toys and beer bottles were strewn all over the yard. At least four young voices could be heard inside the house, which also suffered a few windows with cardboard taped over broken panes.

"I had no idea Matt lived in a place like this," spoke one of the cheerleaders. "All of a sudden, I feel really bad for him."

"He'll be excited to see us," Bryan decided. "But leave out the part about feeling bad for him. He hates that."

The front door was sitting open and though the screen door was closed, there was very little screen in it. Bryan stepped through the gaping hole in the wire, but the cheerleaders were much more hesitant; they stepped through as carefully as if they were tip-toeing through toxic waste. The front room of the house was in wild disarray, but most notable were the faces glued to the TV. Bryan counted six kids ranging in age from four to thirteen, "supervised"—in the loosest of terms—by an overweight man wearing a tank top that revealed a beer gut big enough to carry triplets. He was unshaven, had long and chipped fingernails, and seemed to be foaming at the mouth while he slept with a couch growing out of the back of his head and a beer bottle stuck to each hand.

"No wonder he never invited me over," Bryan uttered.

The group waited for a moment in the living room, but when no one even flinched or looked up at them, Bryan decided to find Matt's room without help. He led the cheerleaders up the stairs to a very narrow hallway. One door was ajar, barely revealing a naked woman sleeping facedown on a stained mattress with one leg hanging over the end. The cheerleaders commented on the hygiene of it. Bryan just looked into the only three other rooms on the floor; one was a bathroom and the others were bedrooms that looked like military barracks. Bunk beds piled to the ceiling in both rooms and clothes could hardly be contained by the closets. It didn't take a lot of creativity to imagine why Matt spent so much time out of the house.

There was one twelve-year-old girl in one of the rooms who was sitting in a bed reading instead of watching TV with everyone else. One of the cheerleaders noticed her and said a cautious "hi."

"You don't look like social workers," the girl said.

"Good guess," Bryan replied. "We're friends of Matt's. I'm guessing he's not around."

"Good guess," the girl repeated. "If he's not at the high school weight room, he's probably on one of the basketball courts. Personally, I'll be at the library as soon as it opens in an hour." That was a shocking response considering the condition of her roommates.

"Wow. You seem really different from the zombies in front of the TV," a cheerleader suggested. "Are you Matt's sister?"

"None of us is related. We're all adopted by a couple of freeloaders who love tax breaks and take just enough care of us to keep the social services away. Matt hates being here because he's the only one the old man physically abuses. Of course, he gets over it all so quickly that there's never any proof; that's why the old guy gets away with it and only beats him."

"How awful."

The girl just shrugged. "What are you gonna do? Adapt and move on."

Bryan was impressed the girl was so nonchalant about the issue. She seemed perfectly healthy, though—even cute enough to hit on if she were a little older. She buried her nose right back in that book and ignored the intruders; she already told them where they could find Matt, after all, and what could they possibly want to steal from this house?

On the way out of the house, the cheerleaders screamed when a beer bottle exploded on the door. The sleeping beast awoke from the couch and saw four unknown people walking through his living room. Angrily, he threw a bottle in an attempt to capture and wound the intruders. He started grumbling something unintelligible while he struggled to sit up. Bryan pushed the cheerleaders out the door and joined them in running from the house as quickly as they could manage.

Bryan found Matt at the school library before the first bell rang. He told him that he and some cheerleaders wanted to surprise him at his house, then apologized for going there even though he wasn't invited.

"It's okay," Matt replied. "But that's why I never introduced you."

"We spoke to a girl who was actually reading. I assume you and she actually get along because she was wearing one of your shirts."

"That's Lindsay, the only one I actually see as a sister. If I didn't think she'd be the one to pay for it, I'd have run away years ago. She's actually intelligent and has goals in life." He chuckled and said, "She's even the one who convinced me to join the football team. She said the discipline would be good for me and give me a form of relief that doesn't involve playing pranks; she obviously doesn't know what drunken football players do after games." Remembering a certain incident involving a truck sitting in the parking lot wheels-up, Bryan chuckled at that comment.

"I was adopted when I was nine. At first I was thrilled because I wouldn't have to be alone anymore, but they just wanted me for the tax break and indentured service. Maybe I'm so short because the old guy breathes in more smoke than oxygen."

"But you're really strong and healthy, so I guess things could be worse."

"Constant physical labor will do that. Anyway, now that I'm old enough to do things on my own and people appreciate my efforts on the football field, I spend as much time out of the house as possible. I've even been known to fall asleep in the library or the rec center."

Bryan wasn't really sure how to respond to that; he simply offered, "You're always welcome to stay at my house. My mom likes you and our couch is actually pretty comfortable. Maybe my mom can adopt you and we can be like brothers."

"I think that's more complicated than you realize. As long as the old guy doesn't want to let go of me, and he continues to make himself look like a decent human being to social services, he doesn't have to."

"Well then, we'll just be sworn brothers." He offered his hand.

Matt smiled at the thought of having that kind of loyalty to someone he actually liked and got along with. He took Bryan's handshake and agreed: "Sworn brothers."

----------

In July right before their senior year in high school, Bryan came to Matt with a deck of cards and a look of excitement on his face. They weren't regular playing cards; they all had pictures and descriptions on them and they were of a variety of colors.

"They're Duel Monsters cards," he said. "My uncle bought them off a guy in Japan and thought I'd like to have them. He knows I do crossword puzzles and thought this would be a cool strategy game for me to learn."

"I've heard of that game. I watched a match of it on TV one time to figure out what it was about. It seemed like a decent game."

"Did you know they play with holograms?"

"Yes. That was pretty cool."

Bryan showed Matt his new cards and said, "I can't wait to see these babies as holograms."

Matt looked through the deck, mentally comparing these cards to the ones he remembered seeing on TV. "Elemental Heroes? They seem pretty weak."

"My uncle said they've got enormous potential."

"Are you sure he didn't just say that because he figured he was getting a cheap deck of cards that he could substitute for your birthday and/or Christmas present?"

Bryan laughed. "One of these days, maybe you'll learn to be less pessimistic. We've got to get you some cards so we can duel with one another."

"With what money? The old guy isn't exactly the charitable type when it comes to things I ask for like books with words or blankets without holes."

"That is a problem. And I assume you're still using your work money to fund your get-out-of-town account for graduation." Matt confessed he was. "Maybe we can get in on some Poker games." Matt wasn't sure what that meant. "Some of the other players hold Poker games with fair frequency, even some in the city with some very rich people. We scrounge up the buy-in money for each of us, then we both take all their money and split it. We can use the money for more Duel Monsters cards, and we'll even pool our card collections so all the cards belong to both of us."

Matt mulled over the thought for a while. It had promise; he was certainly skilled enough to beat a bunch of football players at Poker. And it wouldn't be the first time he'd seen gambling used as a source of supplemental income; his adoptive father used to play poker with some of his drunken buddies.

That's how Matt and Bryan ended up with two thousand dollars to spend on their first pool of dueling cards. They bought dozens of booster packs at first, then stopped to do some research on their favorite cards before going further. When they had some idea about specific cards they wanted to add to their decks, they bought a whole lot of specific cards to throw into the pool.

By the time August rolled around, Bryan's first-place victory at the regional summer tournament earned him an invitation to apply to Duel Academy. He shared the recruiting materials with his sworn brother in an effort to convince him to apply. Fortunately, Duel Academy has solid educators for a general knowledge degree or else Matt wouldn't give it a second thought; he thought it was silly to devote his entire education to a card game.

"Are you kidding me? If I tripled the money I saved and got student loans suitable for the old guy's tax bracket, I'd _still_ owe ten thousand per semester. There's no way I'll ever be able to afford it."

"Maybe you can get a scholarship. You've led a pretty destitute life, and scholarship programs eat up stories like that. Besides, you're pretty eloquent when you spend the time to pick your words carefully. I bet you'd be a cinch to get someone else to pay for you."

Matt kept reading the recruiting pamphlet. "What about this part that says only kids who win a regional tournament or better are even _eligible_ to apply?"

Bryan looked at the brochure disappointed. "Oh, yeah. Well, there's still the winter regional tournament. You could probably win that if we find you a deck you like. We'd have to hurry, though."

"What's wrong with the Elemental Hero deck? Not the one you use, but that other one we built."

"Neos? You think you can win with that one?"

"I guess we'll find out come December. I've got a decent GPA and a few extracurricular activities, but I'd better get cracking on sounding poor and pathetic and in need of money. I wonder if sending a picture of my house would help sell my point."

"Maybe you should include a completed crossword puzzle so they know you're not some idiot football jock who spontaneously decided to start dueling one day."

"It _was_ a spontaneous decision."

"Yeah, but you're not just some football jock; you're the only duelist who can compete with me."

* * *

_I figured a little background into the relationship these guys have wasn't completely unwarranted. I know there wasn't a lot of action in this one (a TV show would actually show highlights from the football game), but I'll make it up by throwing two duels into the next chapter. The first duel will be the one everyone knew would happen eventually: Bryan vs. Matt. Who do you think will win?_


	12. Surviving the Shadows

Chapter 12: Surviving the Shadows

Matt smiled at the thought of dueling against Bryan once again. Even if Bryan was hypnotized and somehow under someone else's control, Matt was sure that somewhere, a part of him was going to enjoy the test inherent in this duel.

Without speaking a word, Bryan took the first turn. He activated Polymerization to fuse Burstinatrix and Clayman into Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (6/2000/2500) in defense mode. The blue-skinned woman donned clay armor complete with a red shield on her left hand and an energy cannon on her right arm. Bryan emptied out his hand by setting two cards and summoning Elemental Hero Stratos (4/1800/300)—a blue-skinned man with white pants, a blue breastplate, and wings with two gyros on his back—opting to put Ocean from his deck to his hand with Stratos's effect.

"You just emptied your whole hand," Matt noted. "Didn't you teach me not to do that?"

Matt started off with one of his new favorite cards, granted from Leona Moxley as a prize for winning her tournament. "Because your field has monsters and mine doesn't, I get to Special Summon a Cyber Dragon (5/2100/1600) directly from my hand." A large, white, mechanical serpent coiled itself in front of Matt. "In addition, I'll set another monster and have Cyber Dragon (2100) attack Stratos (1800)." The mechanical serpent reared back and released a stream of energy at Bryan's aviator.

Bryan activated Hero Signal to replace Stratos with Elemental Hero Woodsman (4/1000/2000). A spoofing "H" appeared as a light against the clouds in a dark sky, and the signal was responded to by a bald, green giant wearing a loincloth; his right side seemed to be composed of tree roots.

"I'll set a card and end my turn." Matt 8000: Bryan 8000 – 300 = 7700.

Bryan drew, then used Woodsman's effect to take Polymerization out of his Graveyard. He immediately activated Polymerization to fuse Woodsman and Ocean into Elemental Hero Terra Firma (8/2500/2000). The new Elemental Hero was massive and white, and he had a blue gem on each shoulder and his forehead, plus a red gem on his chest. Then Bryan activated the last card in his hand: Miracle Fusion let him fuse Woodsman and Ocean again from the Graveyard, this time into Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (8/2500/2000). Instead of having thick, white skin, this Hero wore white armor with sharp edges and a white cape.

"You're really going all out," Matt noted. "Is this you trying to audition for Team OTK? I might carry a fair amount of weight next year."

Bryan continued by activating Terra Firma's effect; by Tributing another monster on his field—Absolute Zero—he increased Terra Firma's (+5000) AP by an equal number of the Tributed monsters. Absolute Zero turned into pure energy and was absorbed by Terra Firma, whose body then frosted with ice shards to increase his strength. Then Absolute Zero's effect activated; when it was removed from the field, it destroyed both of Matt's monsters. Bryan switched Rampart Blaster (2000) to attack mode and attacked Matt directly, also activating his facedown Robbin' Zombie; a zombie apparition appeared on the field to force Matt to discard from the top of his deck every time his LP were hit. Then Terra Firma (5000) launched an attack.

"I'll play Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," Matt replied. A bare-bones scarecrow made of metal scraps rose from the field in front of him and absorbed the strike from Terra Firma. "Once per turn, this card negates one of your attacks, and then I get to reset it on the field." Matt 8000 – 2000 = 6000: Bryan 7700.

Matt picked up his new card and said, "That was a close call, huh? I'm going to play Future Fusion and send two more of my Cyber Dragons from the deck to the Graveyard to fuse them in two turns." A time warp appeared on the field—basically a green and white mass of swirling energy. "For now, I'll set a monster and end my turn."

Bryan drew and Terra Firma (2500) slammed his fist on Matt's monster. Matt revealed his Apprentice Magician (2/400/800), a small magician in a purple robe which let Matt put Magician of Faith facedown on his field. When Rampart Blaster (2000) fired her energy cannon, Matt used his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow again to negate the attack. Bryan set his card facedown and ended his turn.

"I'll start off with Pot of Greed to draw two cards." The familiar green pot appeared on the field to release Matt's deck. "I'll flip my Magician of Faith (1/300/400)—" a raven-haired magician wearing burgundy and blue robes "—and use her effect to take back my Pot of Greed. Then I'll Tribute her to summon Cybernetic Magician (6/2400/1000)." This tall magician wore white robes studded with colorful gems and carried a sharp wand. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can change Terra Firma's (-2000) attack to 2000. Now I'll attack." Bryan let the attack go through. "I'll play Pot of Greed again and set one more card." He sighed rather impatiently as he waited for the green pot to fade from the field. Matt 6000: Bryan 7700 – 400 = 7300.

Bryan drew and activated Mirage of Nightmare; three mummified people surrounded Bryan and attempted to frighten him. As long as that Continuous Spell was on the field, he could draw four cards during Matt's turn as long as he discarded the same number during his own turn. He switched Rampart Blaster (2500) to defense mode and used its effect to attack Matt directly.

"Nice move," Matt noted. "As long as she's in defense mode, my Cybernetic Magician (2400) can't beat her. But my Magic Cylinder still negates your attack and inflicts the AP of your monster as damage to you." A pink cylinder with runic symbols drawn on the sides caught Rampart Blaster's energy beam, then shifted around and sent the energy back at Bryan. Matt 6000: Bryan 7300 – 2000 = 5300.

As soon as Matt drew, the two Cyber Dragons from his Graveyard fused into the Cyber Twin Dragon (8/2800/2100), a two-headed mechanical serpent with blue markings on one head and an amber stone on the other. By Mirage of Nightmare's effect, Bryan also drew four cards.

"Here we go. Now I can do some real damage to you; my Cyber Twin Dragon (2800) has the ability to attack twice during the same Battle Phase, and it's strong enough to destroy Rampart Blaster (2500)." After the first head of the two-headed, machine dragon ripped Rampart Blaster from the field, the second one moved in to strike Bryan directly, pouncing like a snake.

Bryan activated Metal Reflect Slime (10/0/3000), a trap that immediately moved to his monster zones on the field in defense mode. An amorphous, metallic object appeared on his field; although it was amorphous, it had a tendency to generate spikes.

"Geez," Matt groaned. "I thought I was getting better at this game, but I've barely scratched your LP so far, and every time I get ready to do more, you stop me even without a hand." He sighed heavily, wondering why his plays were so ineffective right now. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

After Bryan drew, Mirage of Nightmare forced him to discard four cards randomly from his hand. He activated E – Emergency Call and selected to bring Avian to his hand, but he didn't play it just yet. He simply ended his turn.

Unfortunately, Matt couldn't destroy Metal Reflect Slime with his current cards. He set one more card and ended his turn.

This time, after drawing three cards on Matt's turn—so he would hold a total of four cards in his hand—Bryan only had to discard three of his cards. He set one of his cards and ended his turn.

Matt looked at his hand and said, "Finally. I'll play De-Fusion to split my Cyber Twin Dragon back into two Cyber Dragons (2100). Then I'll play Premature Burial to revive my other Cyber Dragon (2100) at the cost of 800 LP. I'll top it off with the machine-fusion trump called Power Bond to fuse my three Cyber Dragons together into the Cyber End Dragon (10/+8000/2800)." Matt's three serpents settled together and began fusion, with sparks flying as if they were welding together. The result was a three-headed, mechanical serpent dragon with big metal wings and blue energy stones embedded in the chest and wings. "Not only does my spell fuse my monsters, it doubles my new monster's attack points."

Bryan didn't even seem to flinch in the face of a pumped-up, three-headed, machine dragon. He simply drew his three cards for Mirage of Nightmare. A powerful wave of energy burst from Bryan; the wave hardly bothered Matt, but it did tousle his hair.

"Cyber End Dragon (8000) is strong enough to destroy your Metal Reflect Slime (3000), and as a bonus, it deals piercing damage to you."

Bryan activated Imperial Custom; a kingly man appeared and read from a scroll, and then Bryan's Continuous Trap protected all other Continuous Traps from being destroyed, including Bryan's trap monster. Metal Reflect Slime took the hit and Bryan suffered the piercing damage, but his monster remained on the field.

"Are you kidding me?" Matt uttered. "That was an awesome play, dude! You really _have_ gotten better hanging out with the Guard Trio. Maybe I should have started dating Lucy after all." He shook off the thought and finished his turn. Then he reacted with a start when he realized Power Bond had a negative effect.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot that I take damage at the end of my turn equal to my monster's original points. At least Cyber End Dragon (8000) gets to keep the extra points." Cyber End Dragon's tail whipped back over Matt and struck his Life Points. Matt 6000 – 800 – 4000 = 1200: Bryan 5300 – 5000 = 300.

After Bryan discarded his cards for Mirage of Nightmare, he sent his three traps to the Graveyard to summon Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (10/+5000/+5000). A fire ignited on the field, and the dragon emerged from the flames. Its body was sleek and red, with a spiky mane leading to spikes all the way down its tail, skin wings attached from the elbow to the wrist, and two sets of teeth inside its massive jowls. The dragon looked almost real to Matt, and the flames certainly felt real; the heat was intense and he swore his lost some arm hair under the fire.

"You have gotten pretty good at summoning that card," Matt noted. "He's even stronger than my Cyber End Dragon (4000)."

But Bryan wasn't done. He activated another copy of Miracle Fusion to combine Clayman with Avian to summon Elemental Hero Gaia (6/2200/2600), a fusion of any Elemental Hero with an earth-attribute monster. Gaia was taller than Uria, wearing black armor that doubled the Hero's weight and gave it inordinate physical strength. Gaia came with a special ability, too; it selected a monster on Matt's field—the Cyber End Dragon (8000)—and cut its points in half in order to increase its own by the same number. It absorbed that energy through the gauntlets on its arms. That made the Cyber End Dragon (-4000) almost as small as the Cybernetic Magician (2400), both much smaller than Bryan's Gaia (+6200) and Uria (5000).

Bryan's biggest move was when he activated Uria's effect; he followed Matt's use of Scrap-Iron Scarecrow and selected that facedown card to be destroyed by Uria's flames. Then he sent Uria (5000) to attack the Cybernetic Magician (2400) and end the duel.

"Crap," Matt uttered. "I guess you're better than I planned. I won't be able to beat you, after all, and you only had 300 more points." He huffed, then said, "I'll activate my Ring of Destruction trap card and use it on Uria (5000)." A stone ring wrapped around Uria's neck, sprouting eight dwindling points of fire like fuses. "Now your monster is destroyed and each of us takes damage equal to its AP." Matt 1200 – 5000 = 0: Bryan 300 – 5000 = 0.

When Uria exploded, a wave of real heat spread from Bryan's Duel Disk, followed by a lifting of the veil of darkness that surrounded the duelists. Bryan hit the ground from the force, but Matt was relatively unaffected. He experienced a slight dizziness, but he remained upright.

His attention was drawn to Bryan's Duel Disk. The plate where Uria was played caught fire. Matt watched closely enough to see Uria disappear within the shadows as convincingly as David Copperfield with a quarter.

"That was weird," Matt commented. He knelt beside Bryan's body and checked his pulse, but just like everyone at the infirmary, Bryan was fine—just unconscious. It seemed more like the result of being overworked and overanxious during that duel than having his soul taken to some mythical Shadow Realm. And it didn't affect Matt much, so how bad could Bryan really be?

Suddenly Matt got hit with another wave of energy. This one was thicker and heavier, like maybe whatever caused it was trying to prove a point; somehow, it still had little overall effect on Matt's energy flow. He felt fine, but the darkness came back. Despite it being lunch time, he realized he couldn't see far beyond this little grove in the woods. He didn't notice it before because he was so focused on Bryan, but the shadows made it tough to see much.

He finally discovered the source of the energy. It came from another cloaked being—one much shorter than Bryan and with a distinguishable figure. The size of the chest and the smoothness of the skin on her chin told Matt exactly who it was.

"I knew there was some part of you guys still in control," Matt commented. "Why else would you bother keeping a watchful eye on Bryan, huh, Lucy?" She didn't respond, which didn't surprise him because Bryan had been the same way.

"You want to duel, too?" She already had an active Duel Disk on her arm. "Normally I'd accept without hesitation, but I'm starting to think there might be something to this Shadow Realm nonsense. I'm still reeling a bit from that close call with Bryan. I feel a bit lightheaded and a little tingly in my extremities—which is not entirely uncomfortable, if you know what I mean."

Lucy didn't even smile at that crack. It brought back memories of when Lucy avoided Matt after the incident with Elijah Cardine.

----------

_After taking a run around campus in the morning, Matt picked a few flowers near the quad and jogged them over to the Guardian house. He knocked and was greeted with a smile when Erica opened the door._

"_Is Lucy around?" he asked._

"_I think she's in her room," Erica replied. She invited Matt in and motioned to the stairs. He quickly waved at Bryan in the living room before taking the stairs two at a time. He rapped gently on Lucy's door just as she opened it; she wore a thick, blue, cotton robe and had her hair down, and Matt exercised every bit of restraint he had—nearly breaking his neck—not to check her out._

"_Hi," she said quietly and folded her arms across her chest. She was still embarrassed by the idea of Matt seeing her underwear and probably thinking about her during his own time._

_He smiled as if nothing even happened and said, "I brought you flowers."_

_She just said, "Oh. Well, I'm about to take a shower."_

"_Perfect! They need water."_

_She nodded and pushed past him until she got to the bathroom. Matt went back downstairs and told Erica what happened. She grabbed a vase from the kitchen and filled it with water._

"_You want me to talk to her for you?" Bryan offered._

_Matt smiled. "That's okay, bro." He looked at Erica and asked her, "Would you put these in her room for me, though?"_

"_Why me?"_

"_Because that way I won't be lying when I say I didn't go into her room without permission."_

"_That's sweet," Erica told him. "I'll try to talk to her if you want."_

"_I appreciate the offer, but you don't really know enough about me to talk me up, do you?"_

"_I can already tell the important things," she told him. "Lucy would be lucky to get someone like you."_

And someone _like_ Matt is who she ended up with.

_Bryan finished telling Lucy a particularly embarrassing story about high school involving the entire cheerleading squad, a lot of cameras, and the boys' locker room. He figured telling her the most embarrassing story from his past might make her more likely to open up when he asked her about Matt._

"_What's really the problem you have with him?" he asked. "It can't be as simple as 'he touched your underwear.' You weren't wearing it at the time."_

"_I know," she moaned. She stared at Bryan for a moment—straight into those beautiful, sincere, black eyes that stared back into hers without drifting to her figure—and decided to tell him a bit about her life in middle school and high school._

"_I started to… develop… around ten years old, just like everyone else, but by the time I was thirteen, I was way bigger. I don't think you realize how much time I had to spend going to the mall just to buy bras. I mean, they just wouldn't stop growing." She sighed as she remembered more of high school. "I had a hard time going anywhere. I never wore my hair up and I never wore anything spring-y. I took every effort to hide I could get."_

"_And so you feel like you can't hide anymore because Matt saw your underwear? It's not like he saw your bra."_

_Lucy blushed, but she was more comfortable with Bryan after he shared his own embarrassing story. "I had a kind of womanly body even as a fifteen-year-old. There were a lot of guys who would stare at me, both in school and outside school. I sometimes didn't notice them, but my friends always pointed them out to me. Matt… just reminded me that a lot of guys only think of me sexually."_

"_You can't blame him for that," Bryan commented. "I'm pretty sure Matt knew what you looked like even before Elijah pointed it out to him."_

"_Yeah…" She was quiet for a moment. "I do like him, but I just don't think it will work."_

_Bryan just nodded for the moment and considered a theory Andy proposed. "Is that because Matt's such a small guy? He doesn't make you feel fat, does he? Because you are _so_ not fat."_

_She shook her head slowly. "Not fat."_

"_Would you be interested in dating a guy whose height and mass make you look tiny?"_

"_You're interested even though your best friend is also interested in me?"_

_He shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time we competed over a girl." He grabbed Lucy's hand and squeezed it gently, still holding eye contact without any temptation to look elsewhere. "Besides, it's your decision, and I wouldn't want to influence you in any way."_

_Immediately following those words, he leaned forward and kissed her. He caught her by surprise, but she returned the action, and he knew they started something._

----------

Matt took a deep breath and reshuffled his deck with his Graveyard. "Okay, Lu. I'll duel you, too, even though I feel like I've just run a forty-yard 'go' route against a brick wall at top speed." He lifted his Duel Disk, then realized it's even heavier when you're tired; no wonder everyone on TV lets their Duel Disks dangle by their sides between plays.

Lucy took the first turn because even though Matt might summon the Cyber Dragon, she had another card worth playing first: She activated Magical Citadel of Endymion, a Field Spell that collects spell counters like a magnet. The holographic field between her and Matt filled with a large, ornate, architecturally unique castle that Matt tried to eyeball for floor plans just because it looked cool. Lucy followed by activating Arcane Barrier, a Continuous Spell that would gain spell counters whenever a spellcaster was destroyed; a mystic symbol appeared on the ground in the center of the field. The activation of this second spell card gave Magical Citadel of Endymion its first spell counter; she further set one card. To finish her turn, she summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior (4/+1900/1000); wearing deep red armor with a matching cape and equipped with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, Breaker gained a blue spell counter on his armor and 300 AP.

"Oh, yeah. The spell counters," Matt uttered. He took another deep breath and said, "It's a tad unfortunate that I didn't have a chance to change my deck at all. If you get out Obelisk, it will take a little more creativity for me to beat him now; I took out the Copycat a while back." He stared at Lucy's cloaked visage for a moment. "You really couldn't care less, could you?" He laughed to himself as he started his turn.

"I'll use the special ability of my Cyber Dragon (5/2100/1600) to summon it to the field because you have a monster and I don't." Matt's field was again graced with the presence of his mechanical serpent dragon. "As a Normal summon, I'll toss the Skilled Dark Magician (4/1900/1700)." This magician was as formidable as Breaker, wearing dark sorcerer's robes and wielding a black scepter. "Cyber Dragon (2100) can destroy Breaker (1900), and Skilled Dark Magician (1900) gets to hit you directly." The metal serpent released an energy beam to destroy Breaker, then the black magician cast a spell from his scepter that struck Lucy. Matt 8000: Lucy 8000 – 200 – 1900 = 5900.

Matt took note of the field—in particular of the lights surrounding Lucy's citadel, representative of the spell counters. There was one extra light that suddenly appeared.

"Your citadel got to keep Breaker's spell counter when he was destroyed, didn't it?" Lucy didn't answer, but Matt assumed he was right. "Okay. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm going to try to prepare myself for a world of hurt from all those spell counters."

Lucy activated her Pitch-Black Power Stone, a large black orb bearing the symbol of the spell counter. This trap came with three spell counters and the ability to let Lucy move one once per turn; she put one of them on Arcane Barrier. She also summoned Apprentice Magician (2/400/800), a small, purple-clad male magician who placed another spell counter on Arcane Barrier. She activated Magical Dimension; a sarcophagus entombed her Apprentice Magician, but it opened to reveal Endymion, the Master Magician (7/2700/1700), clad in black sorcerer's robes with yellow and purple trim, a black cowl, and a large, magical staff. As an additional effect, the energy released when Magical Dimension's sarcophagus opened eroded the metal of the Cyber Dragon and destroyed Matt's serpent.

Lucy's new spellcaster was strong enough to destroy Matt's Skilled Dark Magician (1900), doing so by casting a spell and striking with his powerful staff. Matt 8000 – 800 = 7200: Lucy 5900.

"Geez," Matt uttered. "That was more thorough than I expected. I'll use Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two." An angelic woman wearing white robes and sporting a halo overhead offered Matt access to new cards. "I'll set one monster in defense mode."

Lucy summoned Silent Magician LV4 (4/1000/1000), a shy magician wearing blue and white robes, but Lucy immediately sent her to the Graveyard and dispelled the Arcane Barrier to draw four cards—one per spell counter on her Arcane Barrier spell card. She set one of those cards and attacked Matt's monster with Endymion (2700).

"Crystal Seer (1/100/100)." His defensive monster was a small crystal-gazer wearing red robes, a blue cloak, and a blue veil over her face. "I pick up two cards, then keep one and put the other on the bottom of my deck." Lucy had no further plays except to move a spell counter from Pitch-Black Power Stone to Magical Citadel Endymion, illuminating another light on the castle grounds.

"I'll start my turn by summoning Cyber Dragon Zwei (4/1500/1000)." A metallic serpent with a newer design slithered onto Matt's field; it was smaller than the Cyber Dragon, but it was clearly a streamlined design, with yellow markings and two wing joints on its back for protection. "Next I'll activate its ability by revealing a spell card in my hand; now my machine becomes the same as Cyber Dragon." The serpent didn't change design, but it did appear to gain energy, creating the appearance of the Cyber Dragon sitting behind it. "And that same spell card Evolution Burst lets my Cyber Dragon destroy Endymion the magician." The spell card gave Matt's Cyber Dragon enough power to release an energy beam so powerful it incinerated Lucy's magician. "Sure, my machine can't attack this turn, but at least you're out another monster. I'll end my turn with another facedown card."

If only Lucy were at all worried. She summoned Defender, the Magical Knight (4/1600/1000)—a magician clad in blue, heavy armor, wielding a small broadsword in one hand and an enormous scutum shield in the other—and sent it to attack Matt's makeshift Cyber Dragon. She threw in Magician's Circle—a commonly-used magical symbol—to summon Dark Red Enchanter (6/+2300/2200); her magician wore burgundy robes with gold-plated leggings, bracers, shoulders, and crown, and he carried a golden staff by his side. Additionally, the Enchanter gained two spell counters and 600 points because of it.

On the plus side, Magician's Circle allowed _both_ players to summon a spellcaster of 2000 points or fewer. Matt chose to summon Dark Magician Girl (6/+2300/1700), a female magician clad in a blue costume well-cited for its short, pink skirt and low-cut top. She gained 300 points because Matt discarded his Dark Magician when he played Graceful Charity, and Dark Magician Girl's effect gave her additional strength for every Dark Magician in the grave. Lucy had no desire to have her monster suicide against Matt's. Instead, she ended her Battle Phase and gave the last spell counter from Pitch-Black Power Stone to Dark Red Enchanter (+2600). She set one more card and ended her turn. Matt 7200 – 100 = 7100: Lucy 5900.

"Let's see what we've got," Matt uttered. "I'll play Monster Reborn to revive Cyber Dragon (2100)," the full-sized, metal serpent, "and then I'll summon a monster that's new to my deck; I'm sure you'll like her." A pink-haired woman appeared on his field, wearing a white lab coat with space for wings out the back and carrying a pen and clipboard. "Counselor Lily (3/400/1500) is a tuner monster and I intend to tune her to my Cyber Dragon (5). When they combine, I can summon the Stardust Dragon (8/2500/2000)." Counselor Lily became like a ring of energy, altering the Cyber Dragon into a stream of light as the two monsters recombined into a new creature—a white dragon with sky blue scales, purple muscles, a three-pointed crown over its head, and a bipedal appearance, with large hind legs and smaller forelegs, each with powerful claws. He smiled at the way his monster shone brightly and pushed back some of the shadows.

That's how Cary and Kasumi found Matt in the woods; they followed the star.

"Matt?" Cary called. He turned sharply to see Cary push her way through the trees with Kasumi lagging behind; the ambient energy inflicted just by having the shadows present affected Kas more thoroughly than it did Cary. She had a tough time keeping up; he breathing was labored and her feet felt like concrete blocks.

"Why are you two here?" Matt complained. "I told you to stay put and make excuses if someone noticed me missing."

"No one's going to notice unless you wind up in a coma," Cary scolded him. She was pretty much correct; nobody was doing a head count in the gym and Matt was always silent in the corner, anyway, so no one would notice his missing. She rushed into Matt's arms for a hug; the physical contact assured her that he really was fine. Then she noticed Bryan on the ground, adorned in the same big cloak she saw Andy wear. "What happened to him?"

"I beat him in a duel… kinda." Matt, still not noticing Kas yet, pushed Cary away and said, "Go see if he's okay. I need to focus on this duel before Lucy manages to summon Obelisk the Tormentor."

Cary checked Bryan for a pulse, and instead she got him to react to the touch. She yelped as Bryan slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"Where the hell am I?" he grunted. He rubbed his face and noticed the knot on the side of his head. "I feel weird. Did I grow a tumor?"

"You're awake!" Cary said surprised. "Are you okay?"

Bryan barely managed to look her in the face. He was struggling to remember what happened. Everything was mostly a blur in his memory, but he did have a few images floating around, starting with the most recent events. He finally asked, "Did I lose a duel to Matt?"

Matt looked at the field and said, "Where was I?" He took a moment to recount his previous moves to himself and said, "Oh, yeah. When Counselor Lily is used in a tuning, I can pay 500 LP to have my Stardust Dragon (+3500) gain 1000 AP until the end of the turn. That makes him strong enough to destroy your Dark Red Enchanter (+2900)."

Lucy activated Defender's effect to remove a spell counter in order to protect her other spellcaster from being destroyed. Stardust Dragon took flight and plowed straight toward Dark Red Enchanter; Defender intercepted the attack and deflected the attack with his massive shield.

"At least you can't protect Defender (1600) against Dark Magician Girl (2300) this time." Dark Magician Girl launched a powerful magic attack from her rod; Defender hid behind him shield only to see the shield shatter under the magic attack. Lucy's monster still wasn't destroyed, and Matt eventually realized why. The effect of Lucy's Citadel let her remove a spell counter from _it_ during Matt's first attack, saving Defender's spell counter for Dark Magician Girl's attack; hence, she protected both her monsters from destruction.

"That can't be good," Matt said, noting the number of monsters on the field. Matt 7100 – 500 = 6600: Lucy 5900 – 600 – 700 = 4600.

As soon as Lucy touched her deck, a powerful wave of shadows washed over Matt and practically smothered Cary and Bryan. Kas never even made it into the grove; she fell to her knees a while ago and passed out as soon as the shadows hit her.

"Holy crap," Bryan moaned. He managed to sit up with Cary's help, but after the shadows hit him, he ended up heaving on the ground in front of him. He coughed a few times and wiped his face. "Is that what it feels like to face an awakened god card?"

Cary wasn't paying attention to him; she was experiencing again the fear of facing the power of a deity. The shadows intensified the ambient energy as the coming of a god.

Lucy activated Dark Red Enchanter's effect; by removing two spell counters, she forced Matt to discard from his hand, and she removed four spell counters from her monster. She activated her facedown Call of the Haunted to summon her black magician Endymion, the Master Magician (2700). She sent all three of her monsters to the Graveyard to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (10/4000/4000). Lightning struck as the shadows compiled and began to form the mammoth, black body of Obelisk the Tormentor.

Matt remembered the monstrous face of the Egyptian God monster, but it was nowhere near as intimidating when it was displayed on the smaller duel terminal. This card looked as real to him as any defensive safety that ever tackled him and tried to strip the ball, only Obelisk was the size of the entire field and seemed to amplify the aches already present in Matt's body.

"Wow. That's a powerful feeling I get from that guy."

Obelisk launched an immediate assault against Dark Magician Girl (2300), which Lucy saw as a potential trump card if Matt used it to draw another Dark Magician and set up his OTK strategy. Obelisk planted his mighty fist on top of Dark Magician Girl, never even slowing as he crushed Matt's monster. Matt 6600 – 1700 = 4900: Lucy 4600.

"I'll switch Stardust Dragon (2000) to defense mode and set a card. Then I'll use Future Fusion to send two Cyber Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard to summon my Cyber Twin Dragon in two turns." The green-and-white time warp appeared on his field, growing steadily larger until it would summon Matt's monster in two turns. Matt was trying to keep the Stardust Dragon around in case Lucy activated Obelisk's effect, but Lucy didn't seem to be falling for it, and his trap card couldn't be used because it had a targeting effect, to which Obelisk was immune.

Lucy activated Spell Power Grasp and gave her Citadel a spell counter for activating a spell card; in addition, an image of Endymion, the Master Magician granted her Citadel an additional spell counter per Spell Power Grasp's effect. Now that she had ten spell counters on her citadel, she activated Mega Ton Magical Cannon; a stone cannon with electrical wiring appeared on her field, and spell counters were placed in the back as power sources. By removing ten counters, she was able to destroy every card on Matt's field.

"I might as well play it now," Matt decided. "By Tributing my Stardust Dragon, I can negate your card's effect." The Stardust Dragon positioned itself in front of Matt's field, charged itself until its body shone as brightly as the holographic projectors could handle, and then planted itself on Lucy's cannon and exploded, destroying both cards.

Lucy jumped over the chance to summon Mythical Beast Cerberus (4/1400/1400)—a canine beast with skin resembling magician's robes and two heads; one head resembled a hyena's and the other resembled a wolf's. Combined with Obelisk (4000), the total AP on Lucy's field were higher than Matt's LP. She started with Obelisk's attack, a powerful punch that made Matt's shoulders feel inordinately heavy, and Cerberus's attack ensued.

"_Now_ I can use Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," Matt said. "It negates your attack and resets itself to be used again on my next turn." Mythical Beast Cerberus crashed into the metal scarecrow and fell limp to the ground. It returned to Lucy's side as the scarecrow reset.

Lucy ended her turn, prompting the descent of a bright light as Matt's Stardust Dragon (2500) returned to the field; whenever it sacrificed itself to negate a card-destroying effect, it could revive during the End Phase. Matt 4900 – 4000 = 900: Lucy 4600.

Matt took a deep breath before he drew.

"You got her, Matt," Bryan uttered. Matt reacted with a start; he didn't realize Bryan was awake already. He stared at his sworn brother for a minute, then his baffled look gave way to a smile.

"I just need a good card here." Matt didn't seem to notice, but when he drew his card, a wave of reciprocal energy countered much of the darkness in the area.

"I'll play Overload Fusion." An explosion appeared from the Graveyard, scattering metal parts everywhere. "This lets me remove from play the three Cyber Dragons and my Cyber Dragon Zwei to fuse them into the Chimeratech Overdragon (9/+3200/+3200)." The serpentine machine that emerged from Matt's Graveyard resembled Matt's other cyber dragons, but with four, thinner heads. "Its power is equal to the number of machines I fused times 800. When I summon this card, everything else on my side of the field is destroyed, but not before I chain Limiter Removal to double my Overdragon's (+6400) attack points."

Lucy hadn't expected Matt to find a monster stronger than hers; at best, she thought he might summon the Cyber End Dragon (4000) like he did against Bryan. As dangerous as a three-headed monster was, a four-headed monster was even more dangerous. The shadows enveloping her mind quivered in the face of her impending loss.

"I'll have Chimeratech Overdragon (6400) eliminate Obelisk the Tormentor (4000)!" Two heads lunged forward and clamped down on each side of Obelisk's neck, and a third head launched an electrical blast straight down on the jewel atop Obelisk's head. From the inside out, Obelisk's body sparked with electrical energy. Matt noticed sparks flying from Lucy's Duel Disk, too. The Obelisk card was fading in the sparks and caught fire, just as Uria before it.

"Weird…" Matt uttered. He looked at the field and remembered that Lucy wasn't done yet. "I forgot to mention that Chimeratech Overdragon (6400) can attack as many times as the number of machines that were used to fuse it. That means it gets three more attacks, but one attack on Mythical Beast Cerberus (1400) is all I need." The fourth head of Matt's machine bit down on Cerberus and destroyed it. Matt 900: Lucy 4600 – 2400 – 5000 = 0.

Lucy collapsed on the spot, but Matt quickly darted forward and grabbed the Obelisk card from her Duel Disk; she folded on the ground like a pile of laundry.

"Dude!" Bryan squealed. He hurried to Lucy's side and straightened her out to make sure she didn't suffer long-term injuries when Matt heartlessly let her hit the ground without catching her. He felt a bump on the side of her head and said, "You didn't catch me, either, did you?"

When he looked up, he saw Matt holding a tiny strip of a flaming Obelisk card. Three seconds later, the card was completely gone.

"What did you do to her card?"

Matt shook his head. "I didn't do anything." He rubbed his fingers together softly and added, "It was hot, but it didn't burn or anything. I've burned a lot of things in my youth, and never once could I touch fire without being burned."

He finally looked at Bryan with a quizzical expression. "How come you woke up so quickly?"

* * *

_That took a really long time to write. It's my longest chapter yet, partly as a way to limit the number of chapters in this story arc. I'm trying to keep it fairly short in length, which is also why the stuff started to hit the fan pretty early in the arc._

_I'd really appreciate any kind of review just so I can know someone is still reading this._


	13. The Legendary Engine of Destruction

Chapter 13: The Legendary Engine of Destruction

Andy was a card-playing prodigy. From the time he was six years old, he was already taking adults in poker for fifty bucks a game. It's not like Andy was beating bums and drunks; he was reading the tells of and taking money from police officers, guys trained to read criminals and figure out what they're thinking. Even police and forensic psychologists couldn't figure him out because as a kid, he was highly inconsistent with his tells.

Every one of Andy's friends growing up hated playing card games with him because they always lost, but they thoroughly enjoyed using Andy to hustle bullies and guys from other schools. It got to the point everyone in town knew Andy because they either went to school with him or they lost money to him.

In high school, Tetsuo Iwata, one of Andy's friends, introduced him to Duel Monsters. Tetsuo let Andy borrow a starter deck based on Seto Kaiba's deck—_based on_ being the operative term; as a starter deck, it had a lot of openings and weaknesses easily exploited by a personalized deck. Tetsuo dueled against Andy with his personalized aggro-style deck.

Andy won.

In fact, since starting his own collection and competing in thousands of duels, Andy's number of losses has yet to reach triple digits. He gained control of a god card on his first attempt, and with Dave as the only consistently better student duelist, Andy has remained at rank number two on the island.

Perhaps what truly distinguished Andy from the other duelists on the island was his ability to wield The Winged Dragon of Ra. According to legend, the only duelists who could wield Ra were duelists descended from Egyptian pharaohs and priests. Such rumors have since been proven to be legend and not reality, but using the card does require an inordinate level of spiritual energy. There were periods in the history of Duel Academy when not a single student was able to make Ra shine. Maybe one in four hundred students to go through the Academy could do so. To some people, the ability should be considered enough to put a student in the number one spot, and some people see it as a personal challenge. But even Dave couldn't make Ra shine the way he could Slifer.

Named for the highest Egyptian god of the sun, Ra's essence was the Bennu—the symbol of fire and rebirth. That's why Andy's Duel Disk bore the Egyptian hieroglyph of the Bennu bird. And that symbol made him easy to spot for a professor who bore an ancestral connection to Egypt's pharaohs.

The first time Kevin Lankford laid eyes on Andy was at the Kaiba Corp. Grand Prix three years earlier. Andy was far from the tournament victor, but he was the youngest duelist to reach the top four by a good twenty years. He ultimately lost in the semifinal round, but Kevin was so impressed with Andy's efforts and the potential he saw that he added Andy's name to the recruitment mailing list.

Right here, as the two duelists confronted one another atop the Blue Mansion, Lankford thought about how much better Andy got over the years. It was no surprise that some of the top dueling teams in the professional leagues were actively scouting him; Andy showed high aptitude with a wide variety of decks before he settled on a VWXYZ deck to support his god card. In Lankford's opinion, Andy might be an even better duelist than Dave; if Dave were not so apt to draw Exodia into his hand, his chances of winning a duel dimmed significantly.

Lankford knew the stories of the shadows that Ra conjured from Andy's deck to surround and weaken all surrounding duelists. He shared what advice he could with his fellow faculty members.

----------

"_The Shadow Realm is not exactly a realm," he explained. "The shadows are more like an energy force that can alter the rules of reality in order to inflict physical and psychological pain upon those who duel within them."_

_Baker was confused. "Even the people who summon the shadows get hurt? I always thought the Shadow Realm was used to gain an advantage."_

"_The Shadow Realm is the great equalizer," Dr. Lankford clarified. "The shadows ensure that neither player cheats during the duel lest they suffer great punishment. What gets lost in translation is that the one who conjures the shadows can impose rules upon the game that may put the opponent at a psychological disadvantage without affecting the conjurer. Creating rules that play upon weaknesses such as greed or lust can give the challenger an edge while keeping the rules the same for each participant."_

"_So what do we really have to fear from the shadows?" Dr. Kerr asked._

"_I'm not certain, but I imagine the spirits within the god cards are not subject to the same consequences of the Shadow Realm that humans are. It's entirely possible that the god cards summon the shadows in order to make their Guardian hosts more powerful, or maybe they simply weaken _everyone_ in order to strengthen themselves."_

_Baker huffed with amusement. "So your advice is that we prevent the god cards from being played."_

"_If they _do_ get summoned," Dr. Lankford countered, "maybe destroying the god monster will break whatever spell they've cast to keep hold over our students."_

"_Understood," Dr. Kerr noted. "If that's the case, then maybe it's best if we purposefully wait until they _do_ summon their god cards so that we can destroy them and break the spell."_

----------

_That may be a bigger risk than she made it sound,_ Lankford thought to himself while his silent opponent activated his Duel Disk.

Lankford started with a single monster in defense mode. He opted not to speak to Andy for concern that any words he spoke would only give Andy clues about his hand. Silent, Lankford was sure he could hide his tells more effectively.

Andy's turn was more eventful. He activated Frontline Base, a Continuous Spell that raised a stone wall of defense just behind Andy's monster field in order to let him Special Summon a union monster during each turn; he used it to summon W-Wing Catapult (4/1300/1500), a vehicle platform that resembled two blue space shuttles fused side-by-side. He also summoned V-Tiger Jet (4/1600/1800), a yellow and green jet with the cockpit in the shape of a tiger's head, front wheels covered by forepaws, and rudders that resembled hindquarters. Andy immediately used contact fusion, removing each monster from play to combine them into VW-Tiger Catapult (6/2000/2100). The Tiger Jet rested atop the platform and fused at the location of the connection, generating great amounts of electricity.

By discarding one card from his hand, the VW-Tiger Catapult shocked Lankford's monster and shifted it into attack position, nullifying any flip effects. Lankford's monster was revealed as Totem Dragon (2/400/200), a small, turtle-like dragon with a tube-like neck and native designs drawn on its shell. VW-Tiger Catapult (2000) charged its afterburners, then blasted through the dragon, incinerating it and sending it to the card Graveyard, yet leaving behind its empty shell. Andy set one card and activated Card of Sanctity, a spell that caused a rainfall of gold, holographic coins; the effect forced him and Lankford to draw until they held six cards in hand. He set one more card afterward. Andy 8000: Lankford 8000 – 1600 = 6400.

Lankford hid his amusement at Andy's impressive play. Card of Sanctity is such a risky card because although the player gets to draw until he holds six cards, the opponent does, too. Andy's timing and use of the card was a particularly skillful because his hand was otherwise empty, and he only allowed Lankford to draw one card.

For his turn, Lankford's Totem Dragon (400) popped back out of its shell, revived because Lankford had no monsters in play. The markings on its back began to shift as its second effect activated; when Tributed to summon a dragon, it acts as two Tributes. Lankford blasted the field with the legendary engine of destruction: a large, bipedal dragon, pure white except for its shining blue eyes known to all as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/3000/2500).

Seto Kaiba prided himself on his possession of the only Blue-Eyes White Dragons in existence, save for Pegasus's personal copy. The cards were locked away, put on display, and protected as closely as the Declaration of Independence. But as he softened in his old age, Seto commissioned the recreation of his prized dragons provided the depiction on the card was different, thus keeping his original cards—that no one was allowed to use—unique. The new Blue-Eyes White Dragons were still rare, but any collector with sufficient funds and connections—such as descent from the Kaiba family tree—could get his or her hands on one.

Lankford sent his monster after Andy's Tiger Catapult (2000). The mighty dragon focused its power into its massive jowls, the blue light causing its scales to shimmer and appear blue. Andy countered by activating Cybernetic Zone, a Quick-Play spell that removed his monster from the field until the end of the turn. A glass tube opened and pulled the VW-Tiger Catapult inside, connecting electrodes at major points and recharging the machine.

The disappearance of Andy's machine, however, let the Blue-Eyes (3000) hit him directly. The blue light blasted from the white dragon's mouth plowed into Andy's Life Points, taking with it an enormous chunk. Lankford set a card facedown and ended his turn. Andy 8000 – 3000 = 5000: Lankford 6400.

During the End Phase, Andy's Cybernetic Zone opened again and released his VW-Tiger Catapult (+4000). It returned to the field with doubled attack points thanks to the charge.

Before starting his turn, Andy stared down Dr. Lankford and tried to read every twitch in his fingers, every shift in his stance, every breath he inhaled… Lankford was good at dissociating himself and appearing emotionless, but everyone had a tell. It just took careful attention to find it.

After Andy drew, he activated his facedown Roll Out! trap card; it let him equip the Heavy Mech Support Platform from his Graveyard onto his Tiger Catapult (+4500) as a union monster. Afterburners kicked in on a small mechanical addition and allowed the red and white machine to grant the VW-Tiger Catapult (+4500) an extra energy supply and 500 points. Immediately after connection, the two machines experienced an electrical short, and the Heavy Mech Support Platform was destroyed. The effect of Andy's Cybernetic Zone would destroy his monster during his Standby Phase, but by equipping the Support Platform, Andy activated his union monster's effect to be destroyed in place of his bigger machine. VW-Tiger Catapult (-4000) stayed on the field with its doubled attack points.

Andy summoned to the field Oilmen (2/400/400), a mechanical creature that looked like a can of oil with single pipes connected at the bottom and sides to give it arms and legs. Using its effect as a union monster, Andy equipped Oilmen to his VW-Tiger Catapult (4000) atop the platform like a radar transmitter. His Frontline Base also let him summon Z-Metal Tank (4/1500/1300), a yellow, armored vehicle with a single eye and powerful treads pulling it over the wall of Frontline Base. Andy sent VW-Tiger Catapult (4000) to attack the Blue-Eyes (3000). The fused jet engine allowed it enough force to plow into the Blue-Eyes and electrocute the mighty dragon. Oilmen sprayed Andy's on the return trip, releasing it and letting Andy draw a card when his machine destroyed a monster in battle. Next he sent Z-Metal Tank (1500) to attack directly. As the tank plowed along the field toward Lankford, the professor countered by activating Birthright; an ornate, bronze hook fell into the Graveyard, attached to the Blue-Eyes (3000), and brought the white dragon back to the field in attack mode. Andy halted his tank and set one card instead. Andy 5000: Lankford 6400 – 1000 = 5400.

Lankford drew and activated Trade-In; he discarded a second Blue-Eyes to draw two cards. Then he activated Shrink to cut Tiger Catapult's (-2000) AP and size in half, then declared an attack with his Blue-Eyes (3000). The dragon spent a moment collecting energy again, then released it once more directly at Andy's reduced machine. Lankford summoned Decoy Dragon (2/300/200). This small, distracting dragon appeared to have two, innocent-looking brown eyes in the center of its head, but they were intended to throw the opponent off balance; its true eyes were much smaller and set just beyond each decoy eye. Lankford set another card and ended his turn. Andy took immediate notice of the fact that Lankford touched his facedown card twice when setting it; it was a bluff card. Andy 5000 – 1000 = 4000: Lankford 5400.

When Andy drew, the burst of shadow energy made it difficult to hide his hand; Lankford was able to remain calm and figure out what such energy meant. Andy's Frontline Base let him summon another W-Wing Catapult (4/1300/1500), and he decided not to keep his monsters around any longer. He sent all three of his monsters to the Graveyard to summon The Winged Dragon of Ra (10/+3900/+3900). Bursting onto the field in a ball of flames, The Winged Dragon of Ra appeared as an eagle in all its golden glory, visible across the island to anyone who happened to glance in the direction of the Blue Mansion. Ra drained the Life Points straight from Andy in order to increase its own attack and defense points, making it much more powerful than even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000).

Whereas Andy had been trying to read Dr. Lankford for tells, he now felt no need. Very few cards in the game could harm The Winged Dragon of Ra, and so playing a game of protected psychology seemed unnecessary. He activated Supremacy Berry, and a small dove carrying an olive branch in its beak gave Andy an extra 2000 Life Points. Instead of holding those points, he offered all 2000 to Ra in order to power his god monster once again. Ra's flames grew brighter and more intense, and when phoenix launched itself at Lankford's field, nothing remained in its wake. When Andy paid 1000 LP each, Ra destroyed a monster on the opponent's field, leaving Lankford wide open for a direct attack from Ra's flaming body.

Despite facing the most powerful creature in the game, Lankford managed to keep a stern expression and think only about his next turn. Andy set one more card and ended his turn. Andy 4000 – 3900 + 2000 – 2000 = 100: Lankford 5400 – 3900 = 1500.

Lankford started his turn with Pot of Greed, and the green pot with the goofy face allowed him to draw two cards. Lankford activated Monster Reincarnation—a beautifully-designed, gem-studded ankh capable of connecting the Graveyard to the hand—to discard The White Stone of Legend and draw the Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to his hand. By sending The White Stone of Legend to the Graveyard, Lankford could also take a third Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his deck and put it into his hand. Finally, he was ready to activate his own big trump card.

Lankford discarded King of the Swamp—a human-like head and arms, covered in sludge, that sprouted from the marsh—and activated Polymerization; the jewel within King of the Swamp's forehead allowed its sludgy body to take the same shape as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon and fuse with the other two Blue-Eyes White Dragons. With this fusion, Lankford summoned to the field the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/4500/3800)! Containing 150% of each dragon's mass, the Ultimate Dragon had three heads, each sleeker than before and with additional spikes on the sides of the mouths for extra damage.

It was not the first time these two beasts faced one another. The enlarged, three-headed Blue-Eyes nearly matched Ra in overall size, and right now, it had the higher attack points. Lankford knew about all of Ra's abilities and knew he had nothing to worry about from Ra itself right now; the only thing he had to worry about was Andy's facedown card because his dragon had no inherent defenses. He had to hope his Graceful Charity would give him some good cards to work with.

Even if Andy's facedown card was a bluff, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500) was still not as powerful as Ra (3900). Lankford didn't even have Megamorph, the only card that would make his dragon big enough to win in a head-to-head confrontation. He had to rely on another strategy and count on _his_ ability to read _Andy's_ body language. Andy let go of his stern expression and revealed ever so slight a smile when he drew Ra; the fact that he didn't smile when he set his card maybe meant it wasn't as game-changing as Ra.

Playing it safe, Lankford activated Monster Reborn to revive his Lord of Dragons (4/1200/1000); his spellcaster was armed in dragon bones and bore a deep blue cape on his back. The real strength of the Lord of Dragons is that although he is limited in spellcasting, he unconsciously prevents dragons from being targeted by any effects. The card he hoped to protect was Exploder Dragon (3/1000/0). Joining his massive, three-headed dragon was a smaller, blue dragon carrying an egg covered in spikes.

Seeing both of these low-power monsters on the field was still enough to make Andy flinch because of what they could do together. Exploder Dragon (1000) launched itself at Ra (3900), and although it self-destructed upon impact, it dropped its spiky egg; when it shattered on Ra's head, the egg exploded, too, and the devastation was enough to destroy the golden god card. Neither player took battle damage for the attack, but Exploder Dragon took Ra down with it, and now Andy was defenseless. Andy couldn't even activate Sakuretsu Armor to destroy the dragon because the trap targets, and Lord of Dragons prevented any effect from targeting a dragon.

With the field wide open and his Ultimate Dragon (4500) protected by the Lord of Dragons, Lankford launched the final attack. Each head of the Ultimate Dragon generated a blue light, ultimately joining the beams as one when they fired directly at the opponent. Andy 100 – 4500 = 0: Lankford 1500.

The shadows from the field swirled viciously around Andy and Lankford very briefly before fading away. Even though the shadows drained him considerably during that duel, Lankford did manage to get a good look at The Winged Dragon of Ra before it disappeared in the flames caused by the Ultimate Dragon's attack; it's color was dull and something was off about its energy output. He made a quick call to the Kaiba Corp. database to confirm his suspicions.

He huffed when he realized, "It was a fake god card and it still gave me this much trouble…"

----------

At first, Bryan didn't remember what happened when the shadows consumed a person's aura—nor did he remember that's what happened. He thought—maybe hoped—that Lucy was just pulling a _Sleeping Beauty_, and so he tried kissing her several times, lightly slapping her face and constantly calling her "hey, beautiful." But she never awoke.

Bryan lifted Lucy off the ground and wanted to carry her to the infirmary, but Matt informed him that the infirmary was standing room only since Bryan first disappeared. Instead, he suggested taking her to the Guardian house. As soon as they stepped out of the grove, Matt noticed Kasumi's perfume, which reminded Cary that Kas came with her to the grove. She never made it that far, however, and passed out before she even saw Matt's duel. More accustomed to the symptoms of the shadow affliction by this point, Matt lifted his unconscious girlfriend without freaking out and carried her to the Guardian house, as well.

The house was empty; the police officers who tried to protect Dave were already moved to the infirmary. Matt set Kasumi on the love seat and Bryan set Lucy on the couch. The guys and Cary took a few minutes to drink some water and rest before talking.

"Okay, bro," Matt finally said. "I think it's time we discuss anything you can remember from before you disappeared."

Bryan sat back to think about it for a moment. "I remember meeting a guy named Alpha."

"Alpha?"

"Yes. I remember because I remember thinking, 'he doesn't sound Greek or magnetic.' Anyway, he dueled me using a Koa'ki Meiru deck, and even though I summoned Uria, he managed to beat me. After that, things get a little fuzzy."

"Do you remember anything at all during your tenure as Alpha's lackey?"

"Not really. I've got a lot of images and sounds floating through my head, but no coherent memories. Whatever they did to me, it must have interfered with my brain chemistry."

"_They?_" Matt repeated.

Bryan didn't even realize he said that. "Did I say 'they'?" Cary confirmed that he did. Not one to make a lot of careless misspeaks like that, Bryan wondered about himself for a moment. "Maybe there were more of them than just Alpha."

"Are you thinking of Justin and Erica?" Cary suggested. "They disappeared before you did."

"Yeah, maybe that's it." Bryan was still a little bothered by it, though. He could hear a voice in his memories that he couldn't identify, yet it sounded vaguely familiar.

"Did Alpha tell you anything before you dueled him?" Matt further prodded.

Bryan nodded, sure of the answer this time. "Of course. I wouldn't just accept a duel without learning something, first."

"Tell me about it."

Bryan recounted as much as he could of his conversation with Alpha: The god cards are the vessels of powerful spirits that can reach a higher plane of existence to draw power; the spirits started to awaken and drew energy from the Guardians in order to strengthen themselves and weaken the guardians; Justin's kidnapping was part of the strategy to make weakening the Guardians even easier by distressing them emotionally; and somehow, the Guardians were hypnotized into collecting energy from other duelists.

"What about Kasumi?" Cary asked. "Can't you only gather souls from people you duel?"

"No," he argued. "I definitely remember that. The gods collect souls from anyone and everyone nearby when they hit the field."

Cary's expression turned to one of worry and despondence. "I was right behind Junichi when he lost to Andy, but I'm still here."

Bryan was surprised to hear that, but he didn't have a good explanation. "Maybe you're strong. Maybe Ra was tired. I don't really know all the rules."

"What awakened the spirits?" Matt interrupted. Bryan and Cary both looked at him curiously. "You said the gods were sealed, but now they're awakening. What was the catalyst for that transformation? Piles of energy like that don't come out of nowhere."

Bryan wracked his brain, trying to remember some mention of a catalyst; all he could come up with was the name of some dueling card, but that couldn't be it.

"What _could_ cause that?" Cary asked. "It would have to be some kind of energy surge, I assume."

"Most of the time, surges cause a power outage, even if fleeting," Matt noted. "I suppose—if we're assuming the 'magic god cards' thing is real—then it's possible they were awakened by some kind of electrical power outage or something."

"Didn't Ars Goetia cause a power outage?" Bryan asked, finally just naming the card he was sure didn't cause the problem. Matt and Cary didn't remember that card. "It was during the School Duel."

Now Matt remembered. "That card Ulrich played?"

* * *

_When I get a continuous story going like this, I try a little harder to end each chapter with a cliffhanger or a moment of suspense. I hope I'm doing a decent job with it._

_This chapter is where I get to upset any of the real hardcore purists who insist there are only three Blue-Eyes in existence. Of course, those same purists probably aren't reading anymore considering I've used multiple Dark Magicians, including the one-of-a-kind-in-the-anime Dark Magician Girl. I see no reason to think the really popular cards wouldn't get reprinted at some later point in dueling history, considering the potential profits._

_tiramisu19's recent post reminded me of one thing: I'll never be able to please everyone. As he so aptly stated in our conversation, writing is a demon in that regard. I can only hope that I come up with a series of events that catches people's interests, even if they think some things could have gone differently. On the other hand, I'm glad to know I was able to create the kind of villains you can get attached to--the kind you think should remain so strong that they can only possibly lose to the big hero of the story._

_I like the idea of somewhere between 15 and 25 chapters per arc because that's generally enough to get through a full story without needlessly drawing it out. If this were animated as part of the show, it might take 50-60 episodes to get through an arc because I have no doubt most of the duels would last two-plus episodes each once all the holographic action is drawn in and appropriate inflection and pauses are added to the dialogue. I apologize for anyone who thinks this arc is going by too quickly. I was really proud of it and thought I hit all the key points pretty effectively. I only gave little bits of insight into the professors, but they aren't graduating and so I have time to build their characters up a little more, especially now that you know they are truly qualified to teach students how to duel. The adage "Those who can't, teach" couldn't really apply to strategy games, if you ask me._


	14. Two Gods in One Deck

Chapter 14: Two Gods in One Deck

As the leader of the Guardian Duelers and the number one student on the island, Dave had a reputation for not summoning his god card. He never needed to when he could summon Exodia almost at will. With such power and ability, he drained more spirits for the Shadow Realm than any other Guardian.

Bearing their knowledge of Dave in mind, the faculty members weren't sure how they would divide the Guardians among themselves.

"I already mentioned that I know where to find Justin," Baker commented. "I've also got powerful cards in my deck that can stop his Dark World monsters from using their effects."

Dr. Kerr agreed with Baker's confidence. "I know much about Erica's deck; if you'll recall, she and I spent a great deal of time working together as I helped her train to become a Guardian."

"I'm in no hurry to face Andy," Dr. Lankford admitted, "but I'm better able to hide my emotions during a duel than either of you—even you, Sarge. Andy's a real expert at reading his opponent's tells and using that against you. I'd better challenge him."

"That's a start," Baker said, "but how do we split the rest of the Guardians? We don't even know for sure if the three of us will make it out of these duels intact."

"Perhaps we should simply take it one duelist at a time," Dr. Kerr suggested. "I have some ideas where to look for Lucy and Dave, but I'll admit that I am not certain where we might find Bryan."

Dr. Lankford hummed. "I do not think we will need to worry about locating Bryan; if we are lucky, Matt will find and defeat him for us."

"Matt?" Dr. Kerr repeated. She sighed. "Of course he's going after his best friend. He doesn't realize the kind of danger he's putting himself into. He still thinks this is just a game."

"That ignorance may be his best friend," Dr. Lankford replied. "If he believes he and Bryan are fighting evenly, then he may be able to win regardless of the shadows." He shrugged. "Besides, what are we going to do to stop him? He's already gone."

Baker huffed with frustration. "I admire the kid's guts, but one of these days, I may have to break his leg." So he said, but he really thought—definitely hoped—Matt was capable of defeating Bryan. That would mean one fewer Guardian for the faculty to duel. "But let's assume he is able to take care of Bryan, and one of us is able to handle Lucy after we hit our first targets. Who can possibly duel evenly against Dave?"

Despite the chilly, salty air blowing in from the sea, Dave stayed hidden within a small, rocky alcove beside the beach. He awoke fifteen minutes earlier when he detected energy fluctuations representative of the spirits within the gods being summoned. They were knock-off spirits, though—no more than thirty percent of the strength the original gods hold. Omega thought she was fooling Dave when she handed him a fake god card, but he recognized it immediately; all the Guardians did.

But he wasn't in an arguing mood. He was merely a vessel for the gods, and weakened as Dave's natural strength was, he couldn't resist the will of even a portion of the shadows. As long as he held the fake card, the shadows held their grip on Dave.

He was concerned when he felt such tremendous fluctuations in energy; the energy suggested the other gods were defeated. And a more pressing concern was the approaching footsteps, crunching the beach sand underfoot. Someone found him.

"Dave," the Chinese voice spoke. When Dave stepped out of the alcove, he gazed upon the face of his old roommate. Former owner of Uria, Lord of Searing Flame and the best duelist Dave ever faced. Yul Tan wore his old blazer, the black one he wore in the Guardian house.

"Monica called. She want me to bring you home."

----------

_Duel Academy opened the doors to the dorms three days before the start of classes every semester, and Yul was always among the students who moved in as early as he could. He liked to have as much time as possible to get settled into his room and adjust to the time change. At the beginning of his junior year, he also needed to get used to the Guardian house, his new residence. He was the first to arrive and begin moving in. Dave, Justin, and Andy lived in the house during the previous school year, and so he avoided the rooms already occupied by them. Yul opted to take the far bedroom on the second floor and leave Ryuuhei and Ferrau to flip a coin for the two middle rooms._

_Yul's brother Taigo flew in with Yul to help him move his things into the house. The house was furnished, fortunately, meaning he didn't need to bring a lot of bulky things, but he did have a lot of books, cards, and clothing to keep him for a semester. It didn't take too long to get set up, but it was a busy and tiring process nonetheless._

_Dave was the second to arrive and move in, bringing with him an attractive young redhead. She was ever-so-slightly taller than Dave and sported a smile as bright as the sun. She had a fairly pale complexion and wore thin-framed glasses that seemed to disappear behind her curly red hair. Yul did not know the young lady, and so he reacted by standing as soon as she entered the house._

"_Hey, Yul," Dave said. He sported a pretty big smile, himself, as he shook his new roommate's hand vigorously. "It's great to see you again."_

"_And you," he agreed as he gave a short bow. He quickly introduced his brother, and Dave returned the introduction._

"_This is my girlfriend Monica." He smiled at her as he introduced Yul. "This guy right here has the biggest collection of rare cards I've ever seen. He is a brand new Guardian Dueler this year, but he leapfrogged over Justin and Andy into the number two spot. I am just barely better than he is."_

"_Wow," Monica responded. She blushed when Yul bowed as he took her hand. "You _must_ be good if you can almost beat Dave."_

"_He is generous with his words," Yul assured her. "May we help you carry your things?"_

----------

_Yul sat in the corner of the gymnasium with his friends. He was aware of the dangers inherent in staying on campus while the gods began awakening, but he promised to watch over a younger, female friend-of-the-family who had nowhere to go for the time being._

"_Something smells like fish," spoke Darius. Darius began dating Eldina, Yul's aforementioned family friend, and so he made friends with the same tight-knit group Yul spent time with. From time to time, however, Darius's words didn't quite add up the way he thought they should as he struggled through the word jumble that is the English language._

"_What?"_

"_You know," Darius insisted. "These events are strange. I smell a bat."_

_Eldina giggled. "You smell a _rat_, or something _is fishy_."_

_Darius scoffed. "American idioms drive me ratty."_

_Yul smiled at Darius's attempt to overcompensate. English wasn't his first language, and American English is perhaps the most difficult language in the world. But when Yul's phone rang suddenly, he was surprised to see Monica's name pop up._

"_Hi, Yul," her hesitant voice said. "It's Monica. Dave's girlfriend? Do you remember me?"_

"_Yes."_

_Monica was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. "I haven't been able to get hold of Dave in a few days. I remember meeting you before, so I looked up your name in the Duel Academy directory to find your number. I would have called Justin or Andy, but Dave said they were kidnapped and they don't have their phones."_

"_I understand. Dave told you of the abductions?"_

"_Yeah." She was quiet for another minute. "He's been abducted, too, hasn't he?"_

"_Yes."_

_Yul could hear Monica fighting off tears in her voice. She was desperately afraid that Dave would be lost to her forever. She tried to catch a flight to the island so she could join the search, but all inbound flights to Kazuki were suspended until the kidnapping situation was resolved._

"_What's happening? Is it those god cards? Is that why Dave left me?"_

_Yul tried to explain the rumors. "It may be the god cards hypnotize the Guardians. I think Dave is not in control of himself."_

"_Dave is hypnotized? I thought he was kidnapped."_

"_He was. He and the others show up again and start dueling everyone."_

_Monica was familiar with the notion of the god cards being magic, and oddly, this news gave her hope. If Dave was kidnapped, he could be anywhere and she may never see him again. If he was hypnotized, the connection could be broken and he could return safely._

"_Please… Find Dave for me… and bring him home to me."_

_Yul thought about his relationship with Dave for a moment. He was a good friend even after Yul lost Guardian status. Yul looked up to Dave for his amazing ability to win while enjoying the game; he always finished with a smile. Dave was a symbol of everything Duel Academy represents: talented duelists and honorable people._

_But even if he built a special deck, could he beat Dave?_

"_I will try."_

----------

Dave's expression now was completely alien to Yul; the hood of his cloak did not shroud his face, revealing a hideous scowl. His Duel Disk was already active, indicating his challenge already extended to his former roommate. Yul was still unconvinced of his _ability_ to defeat Dave, but he was more assured of his _need_ to defeat him.

"I will accept your challenge. As they say in the early days: It's time to duel."

Dave took priority over Yul for the first turn, and so Yul simply crossed his fingers and hoped Dave wouldn't win on the first turn. Dave started off with Graceful Charity, and a white-robed angelic woman enabled him to draw three cards and discard two. He followed with Upstart Goblin, a green creature wearing decadent clothing and many jeweled rings, to draw another card by giving Yul 1000 LP. He set two cards and summoned The Bistro Butcher (4/1800/1000), a purple-skinned goblin clad in orange and wielding a chopping knife in one hand and a hook over the other hand. Dave 8000: Yul 8000 + 1000 = 9000.

Yul knew he needed to act quickly before Dave got the chance to summon Exodia. The best he could do to start was to activate Card Destruction, the hand replacement card, and hope Dave already held a piece of Exodia. And he lucked out! The digital display of Dave's Graveyard listed Left Arm of the Forbidden One in Dave's Graveyard. Now he could prevent Exodia!

But Dave also chained Solemn Wishes and Appropriate; holographic rain began falling on the duelists. Whenever Dave drew a card, including by the effect of Card Destruction, he gained 500 LP, and whenever Yul drew outside of the Draw Phase, Dave got to draw an extra two cards. Card Destruction was such an occasion, already giving Dave two extra cards.

"I turn this beach into Necrovalley," Yul spoke. The holographic display between the duelists changed to show cliffs on either side so high they disappeared beyond the range of the hologram projectors. "Now, we cannot affect any cards in the Graveyard, and you cannot summon Exodia." Yet Yul couldn't feel excited about his move. Dave's expression was hardly one of concern. "I will set one monster and a facedown card." Dave 8000 + 500 = 8500: Yul 9000.

Dave gained another 500 points when he drew. He summoned Chainsaw Insect (4/2400/0)—an insect with rapid-moving chainsaws in place of mandibles—and sent it to attack Yul's monster. First, Dave's Insect caused Yul to draw a card, Appropriate let Dave draw two more, and Solemn Wishes gave Dave 500 LP. Then the Insect buzzed straight through Yul's Giant Germ (2/1000/100), which scattered bacteria big enough to be seen that inflicted 500 LP damage to Dave, and replaced itself with two more Giant Germs (1000). Dave further attacked a new Germ (1000) with The Bistro Butcher (1800) and his large chopping knife, and the bacterial effects chained again; Yul's Germ was scattered and inflicted another 500 LP to Dave, Bistro Butcher's effect gave Yul two cards, Appropriate let Dave draw two cards, and Solemn Wishes gave Dave 500 LP.

Dave ended his turn immediately. Because Dave held nine cards in his hand, and the rules state a player can only hold six cards at the end of his turn, he discarded three cards. Yul checked the display, and all were pieces of Exodia. Apparently, Dave gave up on summoning him. Dave 8500 + 500 + 500 – 500 – 500 + 500 = 9000: Yul 9000 – 800 = 8200.

"I send my Giant Germ to the Graveyard to summon Vanity's Fiend (6/2400/1200)." The man who appeared on the field had long red hair growing all over his body, but most of it was covered by a black cloak. "He prevents either of us from using Special Summon. I attack The Bistro Butcher (1800)." Vanity's Fiend stood in front of the orange chef for a moment, then threw open the cloak and absorbed Dave's monster. Dave 9000 – 600 = 8400: Yul 8200.

Dave drew and immediately summoned Armageddon Knight (4/1400/1200), a man clad in iron armor, bearing a saber in one arm and a wire shield in the other, wearing aviator goggles over his eyes, and a torn scarf covering his face. Upon summoning, the Armageddon Knight slashed Dave's deck to let Dave send a dark monster from his deck to the Graveyard: the fifth piece of Exodia. Then he sent Chainsaw Insect (2400) to suicide against Vanity's Fiend (2400); the chains on the insect's mandibles fell apart, but not before tearing chunks from the Fiend's body. Yul drew a card per Chainsaw Insect's effect, Dave drew two for Appropriate, and Dave gained 500 LP for Solemn Wishes. With Yul's field clear, Armageddon Knight (1400) slashed directly across Yul's body. He placed two cards facedown and ended his turn. Dave 8400 + 500 + 500 = 9400: Yul 8200 – 1400 = 6800.

Yul had fewer moves to make. "I just set one monster and a facedown card."

Dave activated Contract with Exodia. Five tombstones bearing the image of an ankh chiseled into them rose across the field and Exodia's head appeared between them. After verifying the energy present from each of the five Exodia pieces, the head nodded and granted Dave the right to summon Exodia Necross (4/1800/0), a dark incarnation of the Egyptian god Exodia.

"The dead body of Exodia revived," Yul noted, referencing stories of Exodia. "It is a powerful card that cannot be destroyed and continues to grow each turn."

And his opponent was well aware of Necross's abilities. Dave chained Torrential Tribute to his monster's summoning; a sudden deluge flooded the field and destroyed every monster except for Necross, who was immune to destruction by traps. He then summoned Witch of the Black Forest (4/1100/1200), a purple-haired woman with a third, green eye in the middle of her forehead and wearing a black robe draped over her body. First, the Witch cast a short spell that struck Yul with a ball of focused energy, and then Exodia Necross planted his fist in Yul's stomach. Dave 9400 + 500 = 9900: Yul 6800 – 1800 – 1100 = 3900.

Even though the monsters were holograms, Yul was starting to feel like he was really getting hit. With only one option seeming obvious, Yul activated Premature Burial to revive the Criosphinx (1200) in his Graveyard. With the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a ram, the Criosphix was too heavy to fly, but just powerful enough to serve Yul's purposes.

"To counter Dark Exodia, I summon Exodia's sealed body; I send Criosphinx away to summon Exxod, Master of the Guard (8/0/4000) in defense mode." The ambient energy left behind by the Criosphinx drew additional power from each of the five tombstones in front of Dave. The energy combined to form a pumped-up form of Exodia, but with a smaller head, a powerful force holding his fists together, and a ring of power behind him restricting his attack power. "All the individual powers of Exodia's pieces add to this incarnation's defense power. I set one card and one monster to end my turn." Dave 9900: Yul 3900 – 800 = 3100.

Dave wasn't impressed. Exxod may have high defensive power, but it couldn't cause much damage and so it wasn't a real threat. Besides, Exodia Necross (+2300) drew power from the five tombstones and gained 500 AP each turn, and so it would eventually be stronger than Exxod. He sent his Witch of the Black Forest to the Graveyard to summon Big Piece Golem (5/2100/0), a gray boulder with rocky hands and feet sprouting from its neck-less body, and then sent Exodia Necross after Dave's facedown monster. The black monster moved to plow his powerful hand into Yul's monster.

"I play Staunch Defender." Exxod stepped up and began to shine with power, blocking Yul's other monster. "All your monsters must attack Exxod (4000) during this turn."

Instead of taking any damage for his maneuver, Dave activated his facedown Spirit Barrier. An invisible shield restricted the backlash of his monsters' attacks; as long as he had a monster on the field, he took no battle damage, even from attacking a defensive monster with high defense points. Dave 9900 + 500 = 10,400: Yul 3100.

Yul was irritated with Dave's play, but he wasn't surprised. Dave didn't get to be number one by taking damage at every trick play the opponent tried.

"I Flip Summon my Des Lacooda (3/500/600)"—a mummified, two-humped camel with no skin on its bones—"to draw one card. Exxod also activates during a Flip summon; you take 1000 LP damage." The ring of power began to spin behind Exxod, and even though his arms were bound, his power still blew past the limiters and hit Dave directly. "I also send Des Lacooda to the Graveyard to set a monster. Finally, I activate Yu-Jyo Friendship." He revealed a rare spell card he discovered during a semester abroad. The card's face featured the images of the original King of Games and his closest friend. "According to this spell…" He held out his open hand. "I offer you a handshake, and if you choose to take it, we divide our total Life Points evenly."

Dave just stared at Yul's hand.

With a smile, he said, "I thought no. Why voluntarily reduce your Life Points? That's where the second effect of this card plays. I show you that I have Unity in my hand," he said as he revealed a spell featuring the King of Games and his four closest friends, "and you are forced to accept my handshake."

Against the wishes of his inhabiting spirit, Dave grabbed Yul's hand. As soon as he did, Yul felt intense cold. His body felt empty, and that brief moment felt like an eternity of solitude and agony. Was this what it was like to be infected by the shadows?

Yul needed a moment to shake off the cold air when he released Dave's hand. Temporarily unable to speak, he placed a card facedown and ended his turn. Dave (10,400 + 3100) /2 = 6750: Yul (10,400 + 3100) /2 = 6750.

Dave drew and activated Cup of Ace. A golden chalice revealed a holographic coin, which flipped and landed with "tails" face-up, Yul got to draw two cards; however, Appropriate allowed Dave to draw two cards, as well. He finally activated Infinite Cards; as long as that card remained on the field, neither player had a limit to the size of his hand, and so Dave needn't discard at the end of his turn.

After absorbing more power, Exodia Necross (+2800) attacked Yul's facedown card. As soon as Guardian Sphinx (5/1700/2400) flipped face-up, revealing a giant, cinderblock lion with a man's face, Yul activated Unity—the card bearing the image of the first King of Games and friends—to increase Guardian Sphinx's (+6400) defenses by the defense of his other monster, Exxod (4000). Unfortunately, Spirit Barrier still prevented Dave from taking battle damage. He set a monster and ended his turn. Dave 6750 + 500 + 500 = 7750: Yul 6750.

Yul still felt cold; the effect of touching Dave's hand was a lingering one. But at least he was feeling able to continue the duel.

"I flip Guardian Sphinx facedown by its own effect, and I set one card to end my turn."

Dave drew and immediately attacked after Exodia Necross (+3300) drew in more power.

"I play Negate Attack to protect my monsters and end your Battle Phase." A quick flash of light started from the outer reaches of the duel field and closed at the point of Exodia Necross's fist.

Dave was being held off for the moment, but he still wasn't losing his patience. He knew Yul was merely stalling, and with Slifer in his hand, Dave was ready with a strategy to end the duel before his deck ran out of cards. He set one card and ended his turn. Dave 7750 + 500 = 8250: Yul 6750.

"Finally, I can eliminate Exodia Necross. When I Flip Summon Guardian Sphinx (1700), all your monsters are returned to your hand." Revealing the sphinx again scattered spores that were buried and bred within the sphinx; the spores scattered over Dave's field and forced the monsters to retreat back to Dave's hand. Dave still didn't even flinch when his field cleared completely. "I will switch Exxod (0) to attack position and activate Shield and Sword; all monsters switch attack and defense values." The energy binding Exxod's hands dissipated and enabled the tree-sized arms to move again. "Now I can attack directly."

But Dave was ready, too. As soon as Exxod swung his mighty arm, Dave activated Mirror Force. A reflective wall appeared in front of Exxod, sending his powerful punch back at him; shards from the shattering mirror also struck Guardian Sphinx, destroying both of Yul's attack mode monsters.

"Oh, no," Yul groaned. "I will set a monster and a card and end my turn." Dave 8250 – 1000 = 7250: Yul 6750.

Dave's turn was an eventful one. He activated Polymerization to fuse Big Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem into Multiple Piece Golem (7/2600/1300), a gray-colored brick wall with jointed legs and hands with massive fingers. He grabbed Yul's monster and squeezed until it broke.

"You destroyed Mask of Darkness (2/900/400). When it flips, I take Negate Attack back from my Graveyard to my hand."

But Dave wasn't done. He activated De-Fusion, and a ball of light split Multiple Piece Golem back into the gray boulder Big Piece Golem (5/2100/0) and Medium Piece Golem (4/1600/0), a bulky, beige-colored rock with jagged edges. By their combined effects, he summoned Small Piece Golem (3/1100/0), a small, brown rock that looked like a trashcan with blue eyes inside. Because Dave was still in the Battle Phase, he declared three direct attacks against Yul; each rock monster plodded forward until it was close enough to collide with Yul directly. During his Main Phase II, he eagerly sent all three monsters to the Graveyard to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon (10/+6000/+6000). Lightning struck the beach as the enormous red serpent emerged from the shadows and covered the field. With spikes all the way down its back, enormous wings, and two sets of jaws, Slifer was an intimidating sight. One roar in Yul's direction was enough to make any man lie down.

But Yul was different. He was a bookworm. He knew everything about the gods, and seeing them only ignited his curiosity. That was his greatest strength in this contest; fear held no grip over him.

With no other plays to make, Dave ended his turn. Dave 7250 + 500 = 7750: Yul 6750 – 2100 – 1600 – 1100 = 1950.

Yul was pleased with the rare card he drew—one that helped immensely while not affecting him adversely at all under these circumstances. Gold coins began to rain from the sky. "Card of Sanctity lets me draw six cards." He looked over his hand and thought about his strategy.

"Slifer the Sky Dragon is arguably the most dangerous of the Egyptian God Monsters, especially in your hands. If I summon monster with fewer than 2000 defense points, Slifer destroy it immediately. He also has unlimited potential because he cannot be targeted by effects and gains 1000 points per card in your hand.

"To begin my turn, I will activate Judgment of the Pharaoh!" He looked excited as he revealed a trap card bearing the face of the ancient pharaoh said to have controlled the Egyptian Gods long ago. "At the cost of half of my Life Points, the pharaoh's power draws upon the Yu-Jyo Friendship in my Graveyard to negate the effects of all monsters on your field without targeting." He smiled. "Even the Egyptian God Monsters bow to the power of the pharaoh, and Slifer's (-0) effect is completely negated.

"Now I activate Cathedral of Nobles." A huge cathedral appeared with golden statues of Anubis, Horus, and Apophis lining the lobby and a seated jackal guarding a sealed casket. "With this on the field, I can activate trap cards during the same turn they are set. I play Fiend's Sanctuary to summon Metal Fiend Token (1/0/0) to my field." A stone gargoyle appeared on the field. "Then I send it away to summon Mystical Beast Serket (6/2500/2000), which can destroy your weakened Slifer (0)." A giant, red scorpion crawled onto the field from the cathedral with massive claws and the Eye of Wedjet on its back. It located Slifer, lying motionlessly on the ground, and consumed the dragon from the head to the tail, Serket rending Slifer with its many layers of teeth.

Slifer the Sky Dragon, despite all its power and defenses, was defeated by an Egyptian goddess whose overall power measured only a fraction of Slifer's fullest power. Named for the Egyptian scorpion goddess Serket, Yul's beast defeated Dave's and absorbed a small piece of its power.

"Before I end my turn, I will play Double Summon and play Theban Nightmare (4/1500/500)." His monster, named for both the former capital of the Egyptian empire and the Greek city guarded by the sphinx, was a collection of blue mist shaped as a nightmarish canine with a nonexistent snout. Now I will set a card and end my turn." Dave 7750 + 500 = 8250: Yul 1950/2 = 975.

As soon as Dave drew, Yul interrupted his turn.

"I activate Last Turn. Every card on the field save Theban Nightmare (+3000)," whose power increases by 1500 when the user has no spells or traps on the field, "is sent to the Graveyard, and you pick one monster from your deck to attack him with." The Cathedral of Nobles disappeared, taking Mystical Beast Serket with it. "The duelist with the last monster standing after this battle wins this duel. And my monster gains 1500 points when I have no cards on the field or in my hand."

Dave searched the remaining six cards in his deck and summoned Spirit Reaper, a skeleton clad in a purple cloak and wielding a large scythe.

Yul wasn't expecting that.

"Spirit Reaper is never destroyed in battle," he noted. "That means this duel will end in a draw."

The two monsters collided, then seemed to bounce off one another in a comical way, the blue mist unable to get past the large scythe. Both monsters were completely unharmed and waited motionlessly on the field until the Duel Disks shut down and registered the duel's outcome as a tie.

Suddenly the shadows encompassing the field swirled with increasing intensity until the ambient energy all collected into a single spot and exploded. The force—not holographic—blew both duelists backward and slammed them into the sand, knocking them both out. A few moments later, the air went still again, and the only sound or movement nearby was the flowing and ebbing ocean waves.

----------

Matt waited patiently through three rings of the phone. He, Bryan, and Cary were still in the Guardian house with the unconscious Kasumi and Lucy. They wanted to gain a little more information before they left and tried to locate more people. Finally, the line connected and he heard a voice on the other end.

"Ulrich Schwartz," he spoke. "This is Matthew Luther from Duel Academy. Do you remember me?"

"Of course I remember you, Matt," Ulrich said. At first he sounded excited to hear back from another friend from the School Duel, but then he remembered what Andy told him had been happening on the island and wondered if the reason Matt called and not Andy was that Justin was no longer the only missing person. "What's going on?"

"I was hoping you might help me figure that out," Matt said. "Do you remember a card called Ars Goetia?"

Ulrich repeated the name twice while he tried to remember. It sounded familiar… "Oh, yeah! That's that awesome card I used during the School Duel, the one that let me summon a whole bunch of fiends from the deck without any cost."

"That's the one. You wouldn't happen to have that card on hand, would you?"

"Sorry, bud. That card didn't belong to me. I borrowed it from Eden—I don't know if you remember her."

"Short girl. Sharp features. Striking nose. I remember her. Any chance you see her around campus and could get her to call me?"

"I don't know why I would. She's not a student here."

Matt stopped abruptly and didn't respond for twenty seconds while he tried to process what he just heard. "Eden is _not_ a student at Hawkins?"

"No. She and Julian met up with us at the airport and helped us with our bags and stuff. I just assumed they were students of Duel Academy like Justin. How's he doing, by the way? Any luck finding him?"

Matt assured Ulrich that Justin was fine, but he wasn't really listening to what he said. "Yeah, he's good. Uh… I've got to run now. Thanks for your help." Ulrich had no idea how helpful he was, but he acknowledged the thanks and was in the middle of bidding Matt farewell when the phone disconnected on him; Matt already hung up.

Bryan was the first to put it all together out loud. "Julian and Eden lent Ulrich a card that caused a massive power surge and probably weakened the seal on the god cards, and we've got two cloaked villains responsible for kidnapping the Guardian Duelers." One of his uncaptioned memories included two people of separate genders dressed identically, and the woman's chin didn't belong to Lucy or Erica. The name also seemed to connect through his mind close to the image.

Matt muttered, "Alpha and Omega my ass."

* * *

_Now you know the identities of Alpha and Omega._

_I'm grateful to Jaden2010 for letting me know someone else is reading my writing, too.  
I'll go ahead and post the rest of the chapters as soon as I write them (I'm generally good at avoiding typos, but apologies for any minor ones that slip past me) just to get to the end and start working on my (maybe) last effort to garner some support for a Yu-Gi-Oh! story. I have an outline, a name, and a few changes in style __for the new story__, including trying a little harder to add some humor. You may see a few more instances of that in the next few chapters, if I can find decent ways to slide it in there.  
_

_I hope at least someone was as excited to think of Yul Tan dueling against Forbidden Dave as I was proud to come up with it. I even managed to figure out a reasonable way to use those Shonen Jump cards with the original character depictions--a traveling duelist with loads of rare cards (mentioned in _Part I: Duel Academy_, as well). To anyone curious why I "mis"spelled "Yu-Jyo" (instead of Yu-Jo): "Yu-jyo" is the more accurate Romanization of the Japanese word "friendship," and so I prefer it; that's all._

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
__Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	15. The Phantom Demons

Chapter 15: The Phantom Demons

After a brief discussion in which Cary, Bryan, and Matt decided they had no idea where to look for Julian and Eden, Cary suggested going to Sgt. Baker with the information. Bryan was afraid Baker would detain them and keep them in the gym with all the other students when they actually would rather help find the criminals responsible for everything that's been happening. Matt came up with the compromise of calling Baker and giving him "anonymous" tips.

"Baker," the voice on the other end spoke.

Matt eschewed the idea of disguising his voice and instead spoke regularly. "Can you find out where someone lives in town?"

"Who is this?"

"The people who kidnapped and hypnotized the Guardian Duelers are citizens of Kazuki. There're two of them. The name is Julian… uh…" He tilted his head past the phone and asked Bryan and Cary, "McMahon?"

Bryan shook his head. "He's Dr. Doom in the _Fantastic Four_ movies."

Matt thought for a moment. "Knowle?"

"Tennis player."

"Koenig?"

"Copywriter," Cary responded.

Baker was confused just listening to Matt throw out names, so Matt changed his tactic. "The other one is named Eden-something. How many Edens can there be in Kazuki?"

Baker wrote down the names and had already recognized Matt's voice, but he wasn't sure how helpful it would be to know who was on the phone. On the upside, Matt's ability to use the phone suggested he wasn't taken by the shadows. "Is there any chance you found Bryan?"

"Yes, I found him," he answered. "He's fine, but Lucy's unconscious, just like the other students."

"You found Lucy, too?" Then he paused. Sounding surprised, he asked, "Bryan's okay? He's not unconscious, too?"

"No. Why?"

After a brief discussion with someone else in the room with Baker, he came back on the line and said, "We found Justin, Andy, and Erica, but they're all unconscious, too. Are you sure Bryan's okay?"

Matt watched Bryan for a moment—he was staring longingly at Lucy—and answered, "His hair's a mess and he's distressed about Lucy, but otherwise he seems okay. Did anyone find Dave?"

"Not physically, but Kevin just told me the Kaiba Corp. records indicate he dueled with Yul Tan, a former Guardian. What happened between you and Bryan?"

He shrugged, even though Baker couldn't see it. "I don't know. We dueled. When it ended, he was unconscious briefly and then he woke up. Why? What happened with everyone else? Did you destroy their god cards in the duels?"

Baker hummed. "Yes. The records show all the gods were beaten during the duels. Do you still have Bryan's Uria?" Putting two and two together, he added, "Or Lucy's Obelisk?"

"No. They burned up or something. I'm not really sure. It was weird."

"They were fake cards."

"Fakes?" He repeated to Bryan and Cary that the god cards he and Lucy used just recently were fakes; maybe that's why they disappeared, weird as that sounded. Apparently they were like all those notices from headquarters that Inspector Gadget used to get; they automatically exploded after use. "So… can you find Julian and Eden? I'm almost certain they are behind all this weird stuff."

Bryan laughed at Matt's eloquent terminology. "Science hates the unfathomable," he told Cary. "Matt is the same way."

Matt pulled away from the phone to show his ability to listen to two conversations at once: "I demand to fathom things!"

Baker relayed that he would look into Julian and Eden, but as soon as he started saying that Matt should bring Bryan to the infirmary for Dr. Nagell to check them both out, Matt hung up the phone. He wasn't ready to rejoin the student body just yet.

"What's next?" Bryan asked, as if he didn't already know. In order for him and Matt to become co-King of Games, there was only one obvious decision about what to do next.

Matt looked at him and asked, "Are you sure you can't remember anything about where you were taken after you first dueled with Alpha?"

"Just what I said before. Dark room, machinery, roommates clothed in black tunics and cloaks…"

"What about other senses?" Matt suggested. Drawing on his psychology class, he said, "Vision is one of the strongest senses, but memory is tied to all the senses, most notably to smell. Can you maybe remember anything you could smell?"

Bryan closed his eyes and tried to think. "Maybe eggs?"

"Eggs? What kind? Scrambled? Benedict? Florentine?"

"Those last two are basically the same," Cary commented helpfully.

Bryan determined, "More like rotten eggs. Sulfur."

"Pure sulfur doesn't smell," Cary pointed out, this time being _actually_ helpful. "Hydrogen sulfide, on the other hand, is responsible for the rotten egg smell."

"Thanks for the tip," Matt told her—hard to tell whether he was sarcastic or not—as he climbed to his feet. "Stay here and keep an eye on Kas for me." When asked where he was going, he said, "Cary has the chemistry knowledge to know about sulfur, and I have the geology knowledge to know that the best place on this island to find the smell of rotten eggs is the big volcano back over yonder."

Perhaps the very first thing anyone saw when viewing Academy Island from a distance was the volcano, but being dormant, it doesn't draw a lot of attention during the year—especially when shadow magic abounds—and so Cary practically forgot all about it. In fact, the island was heated most of the year because of the thermal energy given off by the volcano, and there was a geothermal power station right near the base of the volcano; the equipment in said power station utilized the steam from the heated underground water to drive the turbines that generate electrical power for the majority of the island.

"And you're going out there by yourself?" Cary gasped harshly.

"I'll be fine. I'm a former football player. I used to be an awesome defensive end." He hurried out of the house and left Cary and Bryan to watch over the place.

"Stupid," Cary huffed. "Kasumi fights like Wesley Snipes and that didn't keep _her_ out of the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm," Bryan said with a giggle. He intended to make fun of the term, but as soon as he said it, he saw visions of more random memories. Empty dorm rooms, clean carpets, locked doors all around…

"Now what?" Cary asked when she noticed Bryan zoning out.

"The Medici building," he said simply. "I think I sent Matt to the first hideout, before we were hypnotized. I remember being in the Medici building while I was under Julian's control, so that's where we should go. Matt will just have to catch up later." He kissed Lucy's cheek, then got up and asked Cary, "Are you coming, or do you want to stay here and baby-sit?"

She groaned. Matt and Bryan were both stupid not to call the professors and let them go to these hideouts, but at least Bryan wasn't trying to go all alone. And as much as she'd like to stay with Kasumi, she and Lucy weren't going anywhere as long as they remained comatose.

"Fine. Let's go."

----------

It's remarkably easy to sneak across campus on a cloudy day when more than half of the campus residents are either comatose or home scared. But that didn't change the status of the Medici building; it was locked to everyone except staff and visiting duelists. The latter were each given keycards to swipe that would unlock the front doors.

"How did you get in here before?" Cary wondered.

"I think we had a key." Bryan shook the door a few times to test it out, but the door was designed with a plate over the seam to avoid the old credit-card-lock-picking strategy.

Cary stepped back a few yards and looked over the building, hoping to see some evidence of shadow duelists. She didn't see anybody specifically, but she did see flashing lights in one of the windows on the third floor. She told Bryan to come back and check it out.

"Someone's in there," he assumed. He counted three windows over from the right end of the building and ran back to the door. He shoved his shoulder into it, but that wasn't enough to open it. He stepped back and got ready to plant his foot next to the doorknob when Cary put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Why don't we go in the same way they did?" She pointed to an open window right next to the door. Bryan admitted that would be easier.

The two headed immediately for the stairway beyond the front door and bolted for the third floor. Bryan turned right out of the stairwell, looked to the end of the hall, then counted three rooms. As soon as he reached the third door and got ready to kick it in, Cary pushed him one further down the hallway.

"The first window you counted was the stairwell at the end of the hall," she explained. "We want the _second_ door from the end."

"Oh." Bryan went to the next door and plowed into it with his full body weight, breaking the door's hinges and causing the door to fall forward until it hit the stacked bunk beds and fell to the floor with a very loud crash.

Inside the room, Alpha—all decked out in black apparel—dueled against Numbers Harper, the leader of Team Lockdown who represented Duel Academy at the recent School Duel. She had Sky Scourge Norleras (2400) on her field, that same big fiend that showed from beneath the floor only its torso covered with spikes and bandages. It faced Alpha's Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000), the golden god with bat-like wings, a skeletal body, and an elaborate crown on its forehead.

"Knight!" Numbers gasped as she recognized Bryan.

Alpha scoffed. "Why did you break the door down? It wasn't locked and I just vacuumed in here." Incidentally, his vacuuming was how Numbers came to realize there was someone inside the building.

"Numbers?" Bryan noted. Instead of wasting time asking why she was there, he got serious and said, "He's the one who kidnapped and hypnotized us!"

"I know," she replied. "That's why I'm about the beat him." She turned back to the duel and all but shrugged off Cary's protests and warnings. "I'll play A Feather of the Phoenix." A brilliant, orange feather appeared on her field and brushed over the Graveyard. "This lets me discard a card in order to put Yata-Garasu on top of my deck. Now I'll pay 1000 Life Points to activate Norleras's effect; every card on the field and in our hands goes to the Graveyard, and I draw one card." Norleras withdrew into the dark space beneath the floor, and soon the entire floor turned black as a shadow drew all cards on the field and in the hands to the Graveyard.

Bryan's panic subsided. He remembered losing to Alpha the last time they met, but maybe Numbers had the perfect strategy to beat him. After all, Norleras's effect just let her draw Yata-Garasu to her hand. When she summoned that and attacked, Alpha would be unable to draw any new cards, and no cards meant he couldn't defend himself.

Cary ruined his relief when she gasped, "Oh, no!"

Alpha's field was not empty; a Wicked Token (4/1000/1000)—a golden worm with large teeth—appeared in defense mode. Alpha laughed and explained, "When you destroyed my facedown Statue of the Wicked trap, you let me summon a Wicked Token to defend my field. Yata-Garasu only has 200 AP, so you can't do anything to me now."

Numbers was at a loss. What could she do now?

"He saw your duel with Ulrich," Bryan warned her. "He knows your strategy."

The only thing Numbers could do now to keep the duel going longer than a turn was to put Yata-Garasu facedown in defense mode. She would probably lose her trump card during the next turn, but she would _definitely_ lose if she had no defense. Alpha 2200: Numbers 1600 – 1000 = 600.

Alpha drew and laughed wildly. "I'll summon that mutated wasp Gale Dogra (2/650/600), and then I'll switch the Wicked Token (1000) into attack mode. The Wicked Token (1000) will destroy Yata Garasu (100), and Gale Dogra (650) will attack directly to end this duel!" His wasp buzzed as it flew forward, ultimately stabbing its stinger into Numbers. Alpha 2200: Numbers 600 – 650 = 0.

The shadows exploded through the room and swarmed Numbers, engulfing her body completely. The wave also smothered Bryan and Cary, who clung to one another because Bryan was trying to shield Cary from the pain. As he struggled to weather the painful sensation, he was only thinking about not letting Cary get hurt. The shadows seemed to swarm the room for an eternity, trying to whittle away Bryan's mental defenses and consume his spirit once again. But he had renewed strength this time. Last time, he was cocky; this time, he was trying to protect Cary and rescue Lucy. Eventually, the shadows ebbed and released Bryan.

When he again felt fairly normal, he stopped squeezing Cary into his chest. "So that's what it feels like to be on the other end of the Shadow Realm."

Numbers lay unconscious on the floor with her cards spilling from her Duel Disk. Alpha just laughed, then he finally pulled the hood off of his head and stared menacingly at Bryan.

"How did you break the spell and free yourself of the shadows?"

"I'm afraid of the dark, so I always carry a flashlight on my keychain. But I have a better question," he replied. "How did you _cast_ that spell? You know that plot device in _Office Space_? The one where a guy stays hypnotized for the rest of his life? That doesn't actually happen. Real hypnotism wears off after around ten minutes if the person isn't continually re-hypnotized."

Julian chuckled at Bryan's ignorance. "Are you familiar with tactile hypnotism? It's the same thing, except you remain hypnotized as long as you remain in contact with the hypnotizing object. In your case, we gave you a copy of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames that infected you with a steady stream of energy from the Shadow Realm. The only way you could be freed was if you lost that card."

Bryan looked to Cary. "What happened in my duel with Matt?"

She quietly recounted, "He destroyed Uria with Ring of Destruction and brought both your Life Points to zero simultaneously."

Julian scoffed. "I guess your annoying little friend was better than we thought. Normally, the god cards would drag your energy into the shadows when you lose, rendering you unconscious like everyone else." He started to chuckle as he realized, "I guess the tie split the shadow energy between you two, thereby weakening the effect it should've had. Or maybe you're more dangerous than she thought. I think you have more power than Forbidden Dave. Either way, you've got a death wish for you to come back here."

"How do you figure?" Bryan taunted. "You beat me once. Don't count on it happening again."

Julian's face peeled back into a hideous grin. "You're overconfident. Those Elemental Heroes cannot defeat all three Phantom Demons. The Sacred Beasts, as they are also known, draw their energy from duelists _and_ from their cards. Your cards are already weakened, as you are now."

A brand new voice spoke up, "Then there is one obvious solution."

Suddenly a tall man wearing a deep yellow overcoat stepped into the room. His tall, lanky body and thinning hairline made him stand out in a crowd, even though neither Bryan nor Cary ever had a class with him yet. Dr Oscar Apple held a blue deck box in his hand and offered it to Bryan.

"If your cards are tired, then you need to use a new deck."

Bryan looked confused, still curious how his cards could be tired.

"It's magic mumbo-jumbo," Dr. Apple assured him. "Your cards are fine, but perhaps your chances of winning will still improve nonetheless if you use cards Alpha here hasn't seen you use before. After all, he has changed his own deck considerably to accommodate the Sacred Beasts. You should respond in kind."

Bryan took the deck and looked through it. "Did you get this from my room?"

Dr. Apple grinned. "Yes. You should be better with cards you know."

Bryan paused for a moment, then asked, "You didn't look under my mattress, did you?" Dr. Apple shook his head slowly. Bryan let out a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, thank goodness. Not there's anything against the rules under there like a hot plate or anything…" He cleared his throat loudly to distract attention from the conversation, and then he loaded his new deck and quickly glanced back to Julian. "Let's see what you've _really_ got, jackass."

"Charmed," Julian replied dryly. "My Phantom Demons will eat you for breakfast."

"I'll give you indigestion," Bryan retorted. He activated his Duel Disk and took the first turn.

"I'll play Ancient Rules to summon a high-level, normal monster without Tributes." An old parchment appeared on the field and rolled open to reveal a picture of Bryan's level-seven monster. "Meet Elemental Hero Neos (7/2500/2000)!" Standing taller than Bryan with his arms folded over his chest, Bryan's hero wore a skintight white uniform, with the exception of blades protruding from his elbows and head, and had a shining blue gem on both his chest and forehead. "I'll add another cool card called Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin (3/600/800)." His field was graced with a blue-and-white, humanoid dolphin with fins on his elbows and boots on his feet. "Now when I discard a card from my hand, Aqua Dolphin lets me look at yours."

Julian showed his hand: Convulsion of Nature, Archfiend's Oath, Depth Amulet, Statue of the Wicked, and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames.

Bryan grinned. "Now the next part of Aqua Dolphin's effect activates. We compare the AP of the monster in your hand with the AP of Neos (2500), and because Uria's (0) AP is lower, it is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, plus you take 500 LP damage." Aqua Dolphin exhaled a series of sonic waves that shattered the image of Uria's card and forced Julian to discard it. "And that's good for a start, so I'll end my turn." Bryan 8000: Julian 8000 – 500 = 7500.

Julian grumbled to himself over losing a Sacred Beast already, but despite the flames spouting from his Graveyard, he was hardly afraid of Bryan. "I'll activate Convulsion of Nature; that makes the both of us flip our decks upside-down and continue the duel." The field began to show images altering from a tornado to an erupting volcano to a flood to a lightning storm to an earthquake to a wildfire and around again. Bryan flipped his deck upside-down, realizing how weird that was because he could see Neo Space on top of his deck now. "Now I'll play Archfiend's Oath." A stone tablet appeared in front of him, held in place by the clawed hand of an archfiend. "Once per turn, I get to pay 500 points to declare a card name; if I correctly name the top card on my deck, I get to add it to my hand. I'll pay the Life Points and declare 'Spirit Barrier.'" He pretended to look at his deck curiously and said, "Oh, look! I was right."

Bryan rolled his eyes. "How on _earth_ did you guess that?"

Julian decided to set one card and end his turn. Bryan 8000: Julian 7500 – 500 = 7000.

Bryan waved his fingers over his deck and closed his eyes. In a thoughtful voice, he said, "I'm seeing… I'm seeing… Neo Space!" He drew his card and said, "Well, look! I'm psychic, too!" Done mocking Julian, he continued, "I'll send Aqua Dolphin (600) to attack you directly." His dolphin lunged forward and kicked Julian in the gut. "Then I'll send Neos (2500) after you." Neos lunged forward as well, readying his elbow blades for attack.

"I'll activate my Depth Amulet and discard Statue of the Wicked to negate your attack." An oversized necklace, bearing six multi-colored gems and an obsidian blade, swung across the field like a pendulum, deflecting Neos's attack and resetting itself for another swing.

"Good stuff. I'll end my turn." Bryan 8000: Julian 7000 – 600 = 6400.

After Julian drew, he said, "Now I'll pay another 500 points to use Archfiend's Oath again. I call out 'Magic Planter.' In fact, I think I'll activate Magic Planter and send Depth Amulet to the Graveyard to draw two more cards." His trap fell into a bowl full of boiling water, and the fumes released Julian's deck. "Now I'll set a monster and one card." Bryan 8000: Julian 6400 – 500 = 5900.

"Alright then. I'll summon Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab (3/+1700/500)." His monster was a humanoid scarab beetle, like an average-sized man wearing a giant scarab beetle as a suit of armor. "And he gains 400 AP for each spell and trap on your field. I'll have him attack your monster now." The Flare Scarab flew forward, his wings buzzing wildly, and spewed flames directly at Julian's field.

"My monster is Spirit Reaper (3/300/200)," Julian countered. His field revealed a skeleton clad in a purple cloak and wielding a scythe as big as its body. "My monster isn't destroyed in battle with _any_ monster."

"I got it," Bryan groaned. "I'll put Aqua Dolphin (800) in defense mode and end my turn."

"Good. On my turn, I will use Archfiend Oath's effect and declare Mirage of Nightmare, then add it to my hand. I'll activate it immediately, and then I will send Archfiend's Oath, Convulsion of Nature, and Mirage of Nightmare to the Graveyard to summon Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (10/4000/4000)."

Lightning struck the field and presented Hamon instantly. His golden body occupied a significant portion of the room, and Bryan could swear he saw the beds shake when Hamon's wing make contact with the frame. And with Convulsion of Nature off the field now, both players' decks flipped over again, burying Bryan's next Elemental Hero Neos at the bottom of his deck.

"You buried one god in the grave, but now the second will crush you."

"It's sound so much sexier when Erica says that."

Julian scoffed. He missed having Bryan not talk. "Hamon (4000) will crush your Flare Scarab (-900)." Hamon released static ions into the air, and a moment later, lightning struck Flare Scarab, instantly frying and destroying Bryan's monster. But in addition, Bryan's body seemed to attract a small part of that electricity and draw enough energy to shock him for 1000 extra points. "I'll set one more card and that will end my turn." Bryan 8000 – 3100 – 1000 = 3900: Julian 5900 – 500 = 5400.

Bryan took a minute to begin his turn because he couldn't avert his gaze from his arm; his arm hair was standing on end the same way as if he took a sweater off really quickly. That supported the vague memories he had of the gods being incredibly realistic to the point of generating real static electricity.

"Are you so scared of Hamon that you're quitting?" Julian taunted.

Bryan scoffed. "How can you even ask me that?" He drew and activated, "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." The green pot, arguably the most used card in the game, smiled at Bryan and unlocked his deck. "I'll summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird (3/800/600)." A red-feathered, humanoid bird-man with white wings and a pointy beak flew down and landed on Bryan's field. "And then I'll play Space Gift to draw one card for each of my Neo-Spacians." Two gift-wrapped boxes appeared on the field and opened to reveal faceless cards, symbolic of drawing from the deck. "And just for the fun of it, I'll initiate Contact Fusion between Neos and Air Hummingbird; they both return to my deck to let me summon Elemental Hero Air Neos (7/+4000/2000)." His two monsters connected with one another and fused until Neos wore red-feathered armor and sprouted large white wings from his back. He smiled as Air Neos grew to match Hamon (4000) in power. "When my LP are lower than yours, Air Neos gains power equal to the difference. But I'm not a fan of wasting my monster just to take down a god card." The field suddenly turned into a rainbow of colors, shining every color of the spectrum. "I'll activate Neo Space to give my Neos monster an extra 500 AP. Now Air Neos (+4500) will attack Hamon (4000)." Air Neos took to the air, then proceeded to dive straight at Hamon.

"I'll activate Negate Attack," Julian declared desperately. An invisible force field caused Air Neos to bounce backward before connecting with Hamon. Julian scoffed and added, "I had no idea you would play such powerful cards."

Bryan looked back at Dr. Apple. "Well, I admit this is my backup deck, but Matt helped me build it. Anyway, I'll set one card and end my turn. Oh! Normally a Neos fusion is sent back to the Extra deck at the end of a turn, but Neo Space keeps Air Neos (4500) on the field for you to contend with."

"I've already got it figured out," Julian assured him. "I'll play Hand Destruction so we both discard two cards from our hands and draw two cards from the deck." Images of impish warriors with spherical heads and no mouths each slashed at both players' hands, cutting through two cards. "I'll also play Monster Reborn on the Elemental Hero Prisma that you discarded earlier in this duel." An ankh appeared on the field and opened a path to the Graveyard, bringing to the field a crystalline humanoid; its body was as reflective as a mirror.

Bryan huffed as he fished out his monster. "I almost forgot that Monster Reborn gives you access to my cards, too."

"It does. I'll also summon Phantom of Chaos (4/0/0)." The shadows in the room collected in front of Julian, swirling in a small vortex just over the floor. "This monster may look like nothing more than a swirling mass of shadows, but by removing from play the Uria that you destroyed earlier, this Phantom of Chaos takes the form of Uria until this turn ends." Now the room was getting seriously crowded when the Phantom of Chaos grew to be the same size and shape as a shadowy version of Hamon. "To add to your danger, I'll send Raviel from my deck to the Graveyard to make Elemental Hero Prisma reflect Raviel until the turn ends." Prisma didn't grow, but the images on his crystalline body reflected the blue body and menacing visage of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.

"Now, for the coup de grace, I'll remove all three of my Sacred Beasts from play to fuse them into Armityle the Chaos Phantom (12/+10,000/0)." After the shadows completely consumed the field, Bryan wondered what this new monster would look like. He had no idea the Sacred Beasts could fuse; it never came up when different Guardians held each of the gods. Could the Egyptian Gods fuse, too?

Cary started to fear what was happening in the shadows until Dr. Apple placed his hand on her shoulder. Whereas she had felt intense cold and fear, she felt warmth coming from his touch. She couldn't take her eyes off of Bryan's duel, but she did lean a little in the direction of Dr. Apple. He assured her everything would be okay as long as she lent her strength to Bryan. Had she looked at him, she may have noticed the soft glow coming from a card Dr. Apple wore around his neck.

The shadows cleared to reveal a creature so big it occupied the entire area of the room, fifteen-foot ceilings and all. Its head and chest were blue and muscular like Raviel, the enormous wings were golden like Hamon's, and the serpentine body was red as Uria's tail. The right arm was covered in the gold armor worn by Hamon and the left arm was Uria's head. Cary shrieked when she saw the hideous creature, but Bryan contained himself to letting his lower lip quiver.

"Holy crap…"

"I agree," Julian chuckled. "Now it's time to lose. Armityle (10,000) will attack Air Neos (4500)." The ultimate phantom demon began to charge energy at its core, equidistant from its head and each arm. Energy from each of the three Sacred Beasts raised Armityle's attack power by 10,000 points!

"I'll play Contact Out," Bryan quickly countered. Air Neos shone momentarily, then his energy split his body into the white-suited Neos and the red-feathered Air Hummingbird. "I send Air Neos back to my Fusion Deck to summon Neos (2000) and Air Hummingbird (600) from my deck to the field in defense mode."

"Fine. I can wait another turn to beat you. I'll just destroy Neos (2000)." The force of the blast obliterated Neos and nearly knocked Bryan down. If he didn't believe the energy sealed within the god cards was real before, he sure did now.

Bryan stared at the intimidating monster for another moment before he picked up his next card. "I don't have the cards in my hand that will beat Armityle (0)…" He paused and said, "Wait. Why did its points decrease?"

"Armityle only has 10,000 points on my turn," Julian explained. "But I could warn you that he cannot be destroyed in battle."

"But you can still take damage," Bryan retorted. "I'll play O – Oversoul to revive Elemental Hero Neos (+3000), and I'll summon another copy of Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab (3/+900/500). Now these two can fuse to summon Elemental Hero Flare Neos (7/+3800/2000)." The man inside the scarab armor disappeared, and the armor grew to fit Neos perfectly, rendering him as a man-sized, red and black beetle. "He gains a 400-point bonus for every spell or trap on the field. This attack ought to take away a good chunk of your Life Points." Flare Neos gathered energy and sparked a flame between the horn-like antennae on his head. He hopped into the air with his wings buzzing loudly, then he headed directly for Julian's Sacred Beast fusion.

"Or not," Julian countered. "I'll activate Spirit Barrier. As long as this card remains face-up on the field, you cannot hurt my Life Points as long as I have a monster on the field, too." Armityle whipped its tail in front of Julian, defending him against the overloading flames spread by Flare Neos.

"Crap," Bryan uttered. "Normally I'd avoid this move at a juncture like this, but I need the help. I'll play Card of Sanctity to force us both to draw until we have six cards in hand." The sky began raining gold coins, and he let out a sigh of relief. "I'll set one card and activate Air Hummingbird's effect; I gain 500 LP per card in your hand. That will do it for now." Bryan 3900 + 3000 = 6900: Julian 5400.

"You can try that luck stuff all you want," Julian told him. "It didn't save you last time, either. I'll send Armityle (10,000) to attack Flare Neos (+4200)." Once again, the ultimate demon charged energy in its core and blasted it in Bryan's direction.

"I'll play Mirror Gate," Bryan said excitedly. The field between him and Julian became as a tunnel of mirrors, reflecting any and every surface in a misleading manner, as in a funhouse. "This forced both our monsters to switch sides for this attack, meaning Armityle attacks from _my_ side of the field now."

"Wrong!" Julian challenged emphatically. "Trap Stun negates the effects of al trap cards during this turn." Bryan's holographic trap card sparked to show a short circuit, and the funhouse tunnel shattered. "My attack goes through unhindered and you are still unable to get past my monster." Flare Neos disintegrated almost instantly in the blast. But despite Julian's words, he set two cards. Bryan 6900 – 5800 = 1100: Julian 5400.

Bryan could feel real heat coming from Armityle's attacks. The shadows were making Julian stronger while weakening Bryan by the second. The only way he could end this duel was to get rid of that Spirit Barrier, but then one of Julian's other facedown cards would probably cause a problem. Was there even a way to win?

"Yes!" he shouted when he drew. "By using the effect of the Destiny Hero – Dasher you made me discard earlier, I can show you that I just drew Elemental Hero Neos and then Special Summon him to the field." His cosmic superhero appeared on the field again, ready for battle. "Now I can fuse Neos with both Air Hummingbird _and_ Aqua Dolphin to summon an even bigger Elemental Hero: Storm Neos (9/+3500/2500)!" This triple-fused hero wore azure armor, including large gauntlets with three claws protruding from the wrists of each, and mighty wings protected by spiked guards. This was the largest, strongest appearance of Neos yet. "Once per turn, he gets to destroy every spell and trap on the field." By taking to the sky and flapping his powerful wings, Storm Neos started a whirlwind as big as any Bryan had ever seen, drawing in all spells and traps on the field and removing them from sight.

Julian did not respond favorably to losing Spirit Barrier, but he calmed himself when he remembered that Bryan would be unable to win with just a single attack, and the threat of Armityle would remain on the field. His ultimate phantom demon could not be destroyed easily.

"You're probably thinking about how many more Life Points you have that Storm Neos (-3000) has attack points," Bryan commented. He put on a menacing expression and added, "Unfortunately for you, I have a strategy to inflict _10,000 points of damage_ to you during this turn!"

Julian looked flabbergasted. "What? That's impossible," Julian shouted, sounding awfully worried for someone convinced of his victory.

"Yeah," Bryan admitted, settling his expression. "I was bluffing. I _do_ plan to deal you 5500 points of damage, though. You see, I've got the Swing of Memories ready to play." The field revealed a low tree branch from which two vines tied to a board. The image of Neos appeared next to the swing, holding the one vine and staring off into the distance reminiscently. "And that lets me revive the Neos (2500) you destroyed just a minute ago. That gives me two big Neos monsters to use as I declare war on Armityle (0)." He smirked and asked, "Can you count that?"

Neos charged at Armityle, spinning rapidly and striking with his elbow blades. Storm Neos flew through the air to gain altitude, then he dove at the ultimate sacred beast, cross-slashing with the claws on each wrist. Bryan 1100: Julian 5400 – 2500 – 3000 = 0.

But before Julian was even able to get out a word of objection, the shadows swarmed the field and consumed the bodies of Armityle and Julian. The force slammed Bryan into the wall next to the door, and Dr. Apple pulled Cary out of the room in time to use the hallway as cover. The energy continued to surge for a full minute, rending the room and everything inside, including tearing Bryan's jacket. Fortunately the leather protected him from taking any real damage, but he did end up with a few cuts on his face before he covered himself with the Duel Disk. He was starting to feel completely overwhelmed—like being attacked by a puma—when Dr. Apple reached into the room and pulled Bryan out by the collar. Cary and Numbers were already safe in the hall.

Bryan tried to catch his breath in the hallway. After some coughing and gasping, he asked, "What the hell is going on?"

Dr. Apple told him, "The collective energy of the Shadow Realm is leaking out through Armityle's body. The energy can't be contained anymore. If you stayed in there, who's to say what would happen to you?"

"What about Julian?" Cary asked. "He's still in there."

"I don't know what will happen," Dr. Apple admitted. "But as much as you'd like to help, you can't. He's on the other side of the rupture. You won't be able to get to him without infecting yourself."

"Infecting us with what?" Bryan asked.

Moments later, the explosion of energy subsided. Bryan and Cary waited a few seconds to see if there would be any immediate reactions, but all was quiet… until they peeked into the room.

Julian lay on the floor as a black mass with steam coming off his body. Cary covered her mouth and gasped; only Bryan had the courage to step inside the room. Julian's clothes were burned off and his skin was charred beyond recognition. His face was frozen with his mouth wide open in an expression of horror and his eyes glossed over to be pure white; he resembled Edvard Munch's "The Scream." Cary averted her eyes and fought back tears while Bryan knelt and got a closer look at what the shadows did to Julian.

Dr. Apple didn't bother to look. He simply said, "Humans aren't strong enough to control the shadows."

* * *

_I don't remember where I said this already (maybe in my conversation with tiramisu19), but I want to remind any readers that something to keep in mind about books is that you don't always understand everything _at the time_ it happens. The identities of Alpha and Omega are two examples; the information about the Shadow Realm Julian gave Bryan is another. Many times, all the plot points don't come together until the end of the story, which is pretty much a rule in my writing. I feel like it builds suspense better that way, and very often it seems like the most realistic scenario for real life, which I try to emulate to a degree in my writing.  
_

_Perhaps I do tend to read more into the lack of reviews than I should. If the average reader is anything like I am, he or she is generally lazy or doesn't want to post a review when he or she has nothing intelligent to say. I've read many stories in which all I could think to say was, "Cool. Can't wait to keep reading." I have seen many stories posted on the site in which the particular story may have only one consistent reviewer, yet the author keeps going. I think I was just spoiled by my experience with a Pokemon fan fic (there seem to be many more people open to the use of original characters in the Pokemon section whereas Yu-Gi-Oh! readers want to hear more stories about the anime characters).  
I'm happy with the way this story is going to end, and I hope you will be, too. I doubt any of you will see it coming._

_Thanks to tiramisu19 for his pleasant review of Yul's near-success over Dave (that was my favorite chapter so far) and to Maxim and Knight for reminding me that sometimes, you just don't get the reviews you were hoping for. And not to leave Jaden2010 out: Thanks for letting me know you're reading!  
_


	16. The Phantom Gods

Chapter 16: The Phantom Gods

It took Matt fifteen minutes longer to find the power station than it should have. He had some idea where to look, but that still left him with a wide area to search. Unable to find it when he circled the base of the volcano, he started to ascend. The slope wasn't terribly steep and so he was capable of climbing straight up instead of seeking a footpath, but even higher over the ground, he couldn't see the power station among the trees spread out below.

"Maybe I keep going?" he figured.

When he chanced upon a small area with a hot springs, he figured he had to be getting close. The water from the hot springs is what provides the majority of hot water to the island; it only makes sense that the power station that turns steam into electricity should be nearby. He continued climbing, really hoping he wouldn't have to climb down _into_ the volcano like in those crappy, old, spy movies.

Only a few meters above the hot springs, he noticed a bunker that was part of the power station. He descended quickly and at an angle to reach the plateau where the station rested. Matt was not surprised the place was gated and locked.

Something else grabbed his attention just then. He felt a strange air, then happened to notice two duelists preparing to face one another outside the bunker only a few meters away. He couldn't really see the face of the woman dressed in the black cloak, but he could assume from this distance that if she was, indeed, a woman, that was Eden. The other body, however, was definitely Haruki Yagawa, the leader of Team OTK; Matt saw him often enough this semester to spot him in a crowd.

"Boss!" Matt cried out as he closed in on the duel. It was a nickname Matt insisted on using even though Haruki hated it.

"Matt?" Haruki recognized. "Why are you here?"

Funny that Matt was about to ask him that. "Bryan described the volcano, and so I came here looking for Eden."

"Bryan's awake?" Eden cried. Her voice was shriller than Matt remembered, but with fair reason; she thought the shadows would have consumed Bryan the instant he lost a duel. That he was awake suggested he was stronger than anyone realized. But that's fine. A slight miscalculation wouldn't reduce Julian's strength; he was still the strongest duelist around.

"Let's do this," Eden demanded of Haruki. They only _just_ activated their Duel Disks, but Haruki's divided attention meant Eden could take the first turn. "I'll set a monster and place one card facedown."

Haruki assured Matt he would be fine, then he turned back to confront Eden in a duel. "I'll start by summoning Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (3/1000/1000)." A woman wearing a toga of Egyptian cotton and gold jewelry appeared on the field. "I'll follow up with Solar Recharge." A bright light shone at the top of the dueling field as if the clouds parted to reveal the sun. "By discarding one Lightsworn monster, I get to draw two cards."

"I'll chain Macro Cosmos," Eden immediately countered. A pentacle formed of five white dots appeared in the center of the dueling field. "All cards are removed from play whenever they are sent toward the Graveyard."

"I know," Haruki replied aghast. "My discarded Lightsworn monster, the two cards I discard from the top of my deck for Solar Recharge…" He was not pleased now. Eden happened to run a deck theme that was very tough for a Lightsworn deck to beat. He needed to get lucky with his next few draws. "I'll send Lumina (1000) to attack." His summoner channeled energy into her hands, then clapped her hands together, sending a shockwave toward Eden's monster.

The image of a doll's head, cracked open by the tentacles of an unidentified organism, appeared on the field. Lumina's attack cracked part of the head, expanding the visible area of Eden's monster. "Necroface (4/1200/1800) is stronger than your monster."

"So I see," Haruki admitted. "I'll set one card to end my turn." Haruki 8000 – 800 = 7200: Eden 8000.

"I'll draw, then I'll Tribute Necroface to summon D.D.M. – Different Dimension Master (5/1700/1500)." The broken doll head shattered, leaving behind a silver-haired man; he wore a black cloak to hide his body. "When Necroface is removed from play, like by the effect of Macro Cosmos, we each remove five cards from the tops of our decks. Now I'll play Chaos Greed." The pentacle on the ground emitted four energy waves to unlock Eden's deck. "Because I have more than four cards removed from play and nothing in my Graveyard, I get to draw two cards. Now by discarding a spell, D.D.M. can summon one of my removed monsters." Her wizard threw open his cloak, revealing a body altered by prolonged access to the Different Dimension. Once again, the man reached into the dimension and withdrew a massive, black body with blue markings on his face and crown.

"No way," Haruki uttered. "Obelisk?"

Eden smiled. "That's right. Obelisk the Tormentor (10/4000/4000) can only be Normal Summoned by a triple Tribute, but he is still eligible for Special Summons. And so is Slifer the Sky Dragon (10/?/?); I'll play Dimension Distortion to summon a second god card." The pentacle on the ground flashed, and the massive, crimson head of a dragon with two sets of jowls emerged from the void. "Slifer (+3000/+3000) gains 1000 points for every card in my hand."

"Two gods at once?" Matt noted. "Good lord. And Boss can't use his Lightsworn monster effects as long as he can't use the Graveyard. Can he even summon Judgment Dragon?"

Haruki _did_ have a plan to summon his most powerful monster, but he wasn't prepared for the incredibly coincidental appearance of two simultaneous god cards. His facedown spell was intended to return monsters to his Graveyard and allow him to summon his trump card, not to protect his Life Points.

"D.D.M. (1700) will attack your Lightsworn Summoner (1000)." The cloaked wizard drilled his mutated hand—fingers extended—into Lumina's stomach, destroying Haruki's monster. "Now Slifer (3000) and Obelisk (4000) will attack directly and end this duel!" Haruki couldn't help flinching when Slifer's massive head whipped at him like a striking snake. Obelisk finished things off by slamming his fist down in front of Haruki, knocking the leader of Team OTK flat to the ground, the easiest location for the shadows emanating from the god cards to swarm his body. Haruki 7200 – 700 – 3000 – 4000 = 0: Eden 8000.

"Boss!" Matt dove to Haruki's side to see if he was okay. Eden gasped for air momentarily, then turned and ran off toward the bunker next to the power station. Haruki, meanwhile was unconscious, succumbing to the same physical symptoms experienced by all the students and staff in the infirmary.

Matt didn't like the idea of leaving Haruki on the ground there, but he had to if he wanted to keep up with Eden. He followed her to the bunker and found the doorknob was completely disconnected from the door—a big clue that she originally had to break in. He stepped inside and felt almost like he stepped onto the bridge of the _U.S.S. Enterprise_, except all the lights were turned off and nothing looked like Styrofoam. It was generally dark with the exception of the white auxiliary lights—the kind of fluorescent bulbs that hum loudly when they're on. There was machinery in the room not connected to anything—perhaps this was just a storage shed—except there was a laptop in the corner possibly piggybacking on the power station. And Matt could still see well enough that even adorned in black clothes, Eden was not completely camouflaged from his view.

"Matthew Luther," she spoke. "I'm surprised you're still around."

"I'm like a mafia loan shark: I keep coming back."

"I suppose you're here to stop me from accessing the Shadow Realm."

"I don't even understand what you're doing," he said exasperatedly. "Would you at least answer some of my questions? Let's start with the simple stuff: Are you poisoning the students and staff?"

"No," Eden scoffed. How could he think they were being poisoned? Was he completely ignorant of what was happening? "Well, I suppose, in a way, they are being poisoned. Not by tranquilizers or barbiturates or anything, though. The shadows impair the body's metabolic function and the ability to use oxygen on a cellular level. The first systems to react tend to be the brain and muscles because they need cellular energy to function, hence they stop moving and lose consciousness."

"Oxygen?" Matt repeated. "So that means everyone is in danger of neurological trauma?"

"What do you think a coma is?" Eden laughed.

"Is it even possible to save them?"

Eden shook her head slowly. "The only way is to eliminate the shadows from the island, but that is impossible unless you can remove the source."

"Are _you_ the source?" Matt asked with an inherent challenge.

She merely grinned. "You wish to experience the infection of the shadows for yourself?"

Matt gritted his teeth, tempted to move as quickly as possible to help everyone. But he needed more information; even if he beat Eden right away, he had no guarantee that would save everyone, and he would be left without any idea where to go next. He needed another clue.

"What are you trying to achieve?"

Eden began laughing hysterically at that question. "Are you serious? We want the power of the Shadow Realm!"

"What does that mean? How can you control another dimension?"

"By controlling the representations of that dimension in _this_ dimension." She settled down and put on a smug expression. "You see, the Egyptian God Monsters were physical representations of the Shadow Realm; they were how the Shadow Realm was perceived by humans. When Pegasus drew the god cards himself, his own mystical power gave home a small piece of those physical embodiments of the Shadow Realm."

"What do the Sacred Beasts have to do with that?"

"They were designed to be shadows of the Egyptians. The Egyptian Gods were the physical representations of the Shadow Realm in this world; the Sacred Beasts are the imaginary representations."

"Imaginary? Like ghosts or spirits?"

"Exactly. It is believed that Mokuba Kaiba saw these representations—perhaps he attributed the visions to a dream—and he used those visions to design the cards. A traveling mystic who was aware of the spirits believed them to be demons—or fallen angels—and so he sealed them within the physical confines of the cards, thus limiting their power significantly."

Matt rubbed his head and tried to put all the pieces into a summary understanding of this Alpha and Omega thing.

"So basically, the god cards are either physical or spiritual beings that have access to a higher plane of existence and can affect people biologically through a duel."

Eden scoffed, thinking, _Sure, it sounds stupid when you say it like _that_._

"Right… So are you honestly saying that all I have to do to spoil your plans is beat you in a duel?"

"Believe me; that's much easier said than done."

"It's certainly much easier said than understood," Matt agreed. But a part of him wanted to remain open to the idea. Was it possible for a card game to decide the flow of power? Why not give it a scientific try? If he won a duel and nothing happened, he would provide strong evidence to end the magic talk. "Let's do this."

"As you wish," Eden accepted. She took the first turn. "I'll play Gold Sarcophagus; I remove from play Obelisk the Tormentor, and in two turns, I add him to my hand." A golden case bearing the Eye of Wedjet on the front and two golden eagles on top appeared on the field. The lid slid open, a card showing a picture of Obelisk slipped inside, and the lid slid back in place, sealing the card away for two turns. "Now I'll activate Dimensional Fissure, which will remove all monsters from play instead of sending them to the Graveyard." Just over the ground of the dueling field, where the Graveyard is generally located, a small tear appeared, ripping open to reveal an alternate dimension. "And I'll summon D.D. Survivor (4/1800/200)." A blond man wearing gray armor and covered with an enormous, khaki cloak stood on Eden's field in front of the dimensional rip.

"Good start," Matt commented. "Personally, I'd rather start with Cyber Dragon (5/2100/1600) using its own ability to be summoned without Tributes." His field was graced with the metallic serpent he seems to have such an easy time drawing on the first turn. "I'll add Skilled Dark Magician (4/1900/1700)." His serpent was joined by a formidable magician wearing black sorcerer's robes and carrying a scepter with a spell counter on the top. "Now I'll attack you with both my monsters." The Cyber Dragon (2100) generated a beam of energy that ripped through the D.D. Survivor and caused it to disintegrate into the Dimensional Fissure. The open field gave room for Skilled Dark Magician to cast a spell from his scepter, and a ball of light struck Eden in the chest. "I'll add one facedown card and end my turn." Matt 8000: Eden 8000 – 300 – 1900 = 5800.

"This is the good part," Eden said. "When D.D. Survivor is removed from play, he gets Special Summoned back during the End Phase." Another opening appeared in the air, and Eden's monster reappeared despite having disappeared into the void earlier. "To start my turn, I'll play Allure of Darkness." The air over Eden's deck began to draw in shadows. "I draw two cards, and then I remove a dark monster from play. When I remove Necroface, we each remove from play the top five cards on our decks." The image of a doll head, broken by the emerging of tentacles from some creature hidden inside the plastic, hovered over the field; two tentacles reached out and connected with each duelist's decks, taking away the top five cards.

"Okay…"

"Now I'll Tribute my D.D. Survivor to summon Caius the Shadown Monarch (6/2400/1000)." The energy from D.D. Survivor gave way to invite a massive body equipped in black armor and wearing a large mantle on its back." When this ominous being is summoned, I can remove from play one card on the field—your Skilled Dark Magician—and you take 1000 points of damage because your monster is a dark monster." Eden's monster generated a ball of shadow energy and fired it at Matt's magician to drag the monster into the void.

Matt had other plans. "I think I'll activate Magical Dimension." A sarcophagus entombed his Skilled Dark Magician and deflected the shadow ball straight back at Caius. When the sarcophagus opened, it revealed a bigger magician cloaked in purple robes and carrying a bigger, green staff. "I can Tribute my Skilled Dark Magician before you can destroy him and replace him with the original Dark Magician (7/2500/2100). That means your effect disappears with its target, plus Caius gets destroyed." Caius's deflected attack ultimately overpowered him and dragged him into the void.

Eden wasn't happy with that, particularly because the Dark Magician (2500) was stronger than Caius (2400), anyway. Matt was still in control of the duel so far, so she needed to step it up. How could she lose when the shadows gave her power?

"This is far from over," she grumbled. "I'll play D.D.R. to revive Caius (2400) to my field." A new tear in the dimensional divide opened, and Caius was able to emerge through 800 points of effort. "He can still destroy your Cyber Dragon (2100)." Caius generated a smaller ball of shadow energy in a single hand and blasted it at Matt's metal serpent. "I'll then set two cards. Then during my End Phase, D.D. Survivor (200) comes back in defense mode and D.D. Scout Plane (2/800/1200) comes back in attack mode." Having been discarded by Necroface, the D.D. Scout Plane appeared as a mechanical eyeball with two prehensile "nerves." Matt 8000 – 300 = 7700: Eden 5800 – 800 = 5000.

"And a fine bluff that was," Matt smirked. He remembered playing Poker with Eden after the School Duel and catching some of her tells. She had a tendency to hold her breath when she bluffed, and this was one such occasion. "I'll summon Defender, the Magical Knight (4/1600/2000)—" a large-bodied, blue-armored warrior with a massive scutum shield—"to destroy your D.D. Scout Plane (800)." Defender lunged and sliced through the mechanical eyeball with his broadsword. "Dark Magician (2500) will go after Caius (2400)." Dark Magician whirled his staff around to build momentum, then whipped it forward to send a ball of dark magic flying at high speeds; the magic collided with Caius and forced the monarch to return to the void over the Graveyard. "That's all for the moment." Matt 7700: Eden 5000 – 100 - 800 = 4100. Eden's D.D. monsters were each able to climb out of the void.

"Good," Eden snapped. Her field showed the same golden casket from her first turn. The lid slid open again, and the card inside popped out and directed itself toward Eden's hand. "Now I get my card back from the Gold Sarcophagus."

As soon as she grabbed the card, a burst of shadow energy washed over the field. Even Matt had to admit that was an awfully big coincidence that he felt momentarily ill as soon as Eden touched a god card.

"I'll activate Escape from the Dark Dimension to summon Caius the Shadow Monarch (2400) back to my field." Once again, Caius emerged from the void. "Now I can send all three of my monsters to the Graveyard to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (10/4000/4000)!" All three monsters transformed into ambient energy, which intermingled in the shadows to create a body bigger than the room.

Intense nausea and discomfort wiped over Matt as the shadows engulfed the field. Matt recognized the enormous, black, shrouded form of the mighty Obelisk. It seemed like every time he ever dueled a god card, Obelisk was it. That's why he was already holding the card he needed to beat it.

"Do you understand how the shadows can infect the body?" Eden taunted. "It is like a poison gas that instills fever and nausea."

"Right," Matt scoffed. "We're standing in an electrical room at the power station on the side of a volcano with only a few feet of dirt between us and water heated by molten lava… and you think I'm going to attribute the heat to the _shadows_?" He huffed again. "And I suppose you are protected from this so-called 'radiation' because you control Obelisk."

"My spirit is stronger than the shadows," Eden said simply. "I'll make Obelisk (4000) attack your Defender (1600)." Obelisk's gargantuan body threw forward a powerful fist, which Defender could hardly contain with his shield. By the time Obelisk withdrew his fist, Defender's shield shattered and left him defenseless.

"Fortunately for me," Matt said, "Defender has the ability to protect any spellcaster from destruction one time. I get to keep him on my field."

"I know," Eden mocked. "I want to be rid of your Dark Magician, but you would have used Defender's effect on him, too. This way, I do optimal damage."

"Ooo," Matt groaned. "You have the dueling strategy of a six-year-old. I'm impressed."

Eden was fed up with Matt's attitude, but she was able to keep herself calm. "I'll put one card facedown and end my turn." Matt 7700 – 2400 = 5300: Eden 4100. Her two D.D. monsters returned to the field once again.

"Obelisk is one tough cookie," Matt admitted, "but I've already beaten him twice in my life. This one will make three." Eden challenged him to try it. "I'll summon Magical Scientist (1/300/300)." A white-haired man wearing a lab coat and a heavy gold necklace, and giving off an eerie purple aura, stood on Matt's field, hunching at the shoulders like Igor. "I know; he seems harmless, right? Well, he's a much overlooked card, especially considering he's not even rare. But by paying a mere 1000 LP, I can summon Dark Flare Knight (6/2200/800)." The Magical Scientist pulled a remote control from his pocket and pressed a sequence of buttons. A capsule filled with green liquid appeared from the ground; the liquid drained and the capsule opened, gracing the field with a powerful-looking warrior. He wore black and red armor, bearing a powerful shield and a fiery sword.

"I play Bottomless Trap Hole," Eden countered. A direct opening into the void appeared in the floor beneath Matt's monster. "When you summon a monster with more than 1500 points, it gets removed from play."

Matt looked at the field while his holographic monster disappeared. "I was hoping to save this card, but I guess now is as good a time as any… I'll use Magical Scientist's effect once more to summon Flame Swordsman (5/1800/1600)." Magical Scientist opened a second capsule, this time awakening a warrior dressed in orange hakama over tight blue clothing. He carried a fiery sword even bigger than the one used by Dark Flare Knight. "In case you don't see where this is going, I'll play Polymerization to fuse Flame Swordsman and Dark Magician into Dark Flare Knight (6/2200/800)." The two monsters pulled together and combined their energy into a duplicate of the warrior Eden just sent to the void. "You wouldn't happen to have a second, invisible trap card ready, would you?"

Eden just stared angrily in response to his snarky comment.

"Good, because now I need to play Mystical Space Typhoon; ironically, the storm caused by my spell will _fix_ the void you ripped between dimensions." A bolt of lightning struck the Dimensional Fissure, causing the void to disappear. "Dark Flare Knight (2200) will attack Obelisk (4000)." After focusing energy into the sword until it was ablaze, Dark Flare Knight lunged at Obelisk and struck the mammoth opponent across the chest, barely causing a scratch. The recoil from the attack caused Matt's monster to stumble and disappear into the Graveyard.

"Obviously he's not strong enough to win just yet, but when he gets destroyed in battle, I get to summon Mirage Knight (8/2800/2000) from my deck." A man identical to the Dark Flare Knight ascended from the Graveyard, but this time he wore golden armor and carried a golden scythe. "I'm not done attacking yet, either." Matt's new monster lunged at Obelisk once again, swinging his scythe directly through Obelisk's midsection before taking a second swing. "When Mirage Knight (+6800) goes to town on Obelisk (4000), his AP rise by the same number as Obelisk's power."

He smirked when Obelisk descended into the Graveyard. "It seems to me that anyone who is really as good as you think you are would have waited until I activate Dark Flare Knight's effect to use Bottomless Trap Hole. Lesson learned, yeah?" He also set a card facedown. Matt 5300 – 1000 – 1000 = 3300: Eden 4100 – 2800 = 1300. Her two D.D. monsters returned to the field yet again, and his golden knight disappeared into a small, residual void.

Eden did not react well to the destruction of Obelisk, but it wasn't anger that overwhelmed her; she suddenly showed labored breathing and had difficulty focusing. Her vision blurred and Matt's mockery began to muffle.

"You got a little lucky," she admitted as she shook off her affliction, "but Mirage Knight was removed from the field at the end of your turn. And even with Defender (2000) in defense mode, you left Magical Scientist (300) wide open. I'll start by ripping open another dimension with a second copy of Dimensional Fissure." The ground rent once again, revealing the swirling purple space of another dimension. "I'll activate Soul Absorption, which means I gain 500 points each time a card is removed from play. I'll Tribute D.D. Scout Plane to summon Golden Homunculus (6/+3600/+3600)." When her mechanical eyeball fell into the void, some of its energy was absorbed by Eden's new spell. Her replacement monster was a large, golden-colored, humanoid rock monster that seemed to draw power back out of the void. "My Homunculus gains 300 points per card I have removed from play."

"Thanks for the recap."

"Golden Homunculus (3600) will end this duel by destroying Magical Scientist (300)."

Matt just smirked. "You remember playing Poker with me, right? How often did you beat me?" He shook his head and said, "I'll play Draining Shield, a trap that negates your attack and gives me equal LP to your monster's AP." His body was surrounded by a force field that stopped the Golden Homunculus's open palm and drew energy from the monster's aura.

"You never cease to be lucky. D.D. Survivor (1800) will destroy Magical Scientist (300)." The armored warrior pulled the cloak from over its head, then lunged quickly at Matt's scientist, striking him in the head and destroying him. Matt 3300 + 3600 – 1500 = 5400: Eden 1300 + 500 + 500 = 2300.

"A little lucky," Matt admitted. "I'll summon Cyber Valley (1/0/0) and end my turn." Matt's new monster was a mechanical serpent much like his Cyber Dragon, but this one was much smaller in size, had red gems studding its belly, and a larger horn on its head.

"That's it? Well, let me alter the odds once more. First, Golden Homunculus (-3600) will destroy Defender (2000), then D.D. Survivor (1800) will attack Cyber Valley (1800)." The rock monster grabbed Defender and squeezed until he broke, then the D.D. Survivor again pulled his cloak off in order to lunge at Matt's mechanical serpent.

"Cyber Valley has a special ability," Matt informed her. "When you select it as an attack target, I can remove my monster from play to draw a card and end your Battle Phase." Matt's monster slithered voluntarily into the void, causing a burst of energy that stopped D.D. Survivor's attack and released Matt's deck.

Eden grudgingly ended her turn after putting D.D. Scout Plane (1200) into defense mode. Matt 5700: Eden 2300 + 500 = 2800.

"Here we go," Matt said excitedly. "I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two cards." His field showed a green pot with a smiling face. "I can use Cyber Dragon's (2100) ability to summon it straight to the field. Then I'll summon Dark Resonator (3/1300/300)." A duplicate of Matt's mechanical serpent coiled itself on the field, followed closely by a cloaked imp with indistinct facial features carrying a tuning fork. "And now I'll tune my two monsters together to summon Stardust Dragon (8/2500/2000)." As the Dark Resonator rang its tuning fork to turn itself and Cyber Dragon into combining energy field, Matt made a big deal about the inherent corollaries of a monster as bright as a star dispelling the shadows. Eden just scoffed and called him an idiot—not a unique reaction to Matt's humor.

A white dragon with sky blue scales, purple muscles, a three-pointed crown over its head, and a bipedal appearance, with large hind legs and smaller forelegs, each with powerful claws, appeared out of energy fields on Matt's field. As he joked, the Stardust Dragon emitted a light bright enough to light the area. "I thought it was amusing at least, even if not funny. Anyway, I'll attack D.D. Survivor (1800) and set one card facedown." Matt 5400: Eden 2800 + 500 + 500 – 700 + 500 = 3600.

"I'll place one card facedown and send Golden Homunculus (-3300) to destroy your Stardust Dragon (2500)."

"I'll protect myself with Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," Matt replied. The Homunculus ended up grabbing a bare-bones scarecrow constructed from scraps of iron welded together. Despite the rock monster's strength, it couldn't break the iron. "It negates your attack and gets reset so I can use it again next turn."

"You won't get the chance. I'll send all three of my monsters to the Graveyard to summon Silfer the Sky Dragon (10/+1000/+1000)!" The shadows swirled and masked the floor, broken only by the sharp scale of a red dragon appearing as ominously as a shark in water. This wasn't the first time Matt had seen the long, slender, crimson form of the card version of Osiris, but it was the first time he felt the air shift when the enormous dragon roared in his face. It didn't smell or spit on him, but he definitely felt the air move as if an animal truly roared.

"Wow," Matt uttered, keeping a cool head. "Am I supposed to be threatened by Slifer when he's got fewer points than my Stardust Dragon (2500) has?"

"Yes, you should," Eden told him. "I'll activate Mirage of Nightmare and end my turn." Three mummified corpses formed a triangle in front of Eden. Additionally, her D.D. monsters climbed out of the void once again. Matt 5700: Eden 1600 + 500 + 500 + 500 = 3100.

As soon as Matt drew, Eden made a point to comment on her Mirage of Nightmare. The mummies made terrifying expressions and shrieks, unlocking Eden's deck. "During your Standby Phase, I draw until I hold four cards. Now Slifer (+4000) is much stronger than Stardust Dragon (2500)." The red dragon's roar was more intense as it gained strength.

"We'll see about that," Matt muttered to himself. "I finally have a card that will come in quite handy. I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (4/+1900/1000)." He called to the field a man wearing red magician's armor, equipped with a shield and a short sword bearing a blue spell counter.

Eden's eyes lit up and she laughed wildly. "You idiot! Don't you know about Slifer's abilities? When you summon a monster with fewer than 2000 defense points, Slifer destroys it automatically! It will leave you completely defenseless." Slifer responded appropriately by opening its upper set of jowls and releasing a powerful force of energy in Breaker's direction.

"No, it won't," Matt replied assuredly. "I activate Stardust Dragon's special ability! By Tributing my monster while it's on the field, I can negate the activation of any effect that would destroy a card on the field and destroy that card instead."

"You can't!" Eden argued eagerly. "Slifer cannot be targeted by the effects of spells, traps, or monster effects."

"I am aware, and I also know that Stardust Dragon's effect is not a targeting effect."

As evidence that he was correct, the Stardust Dragon transformed into a ball of light that was swallowed by Slifer's second set of jaws. The light from the Stardust Dragon did not fade, but instead infested Slifer, and several streams of light broke through the crimson scales until suddenly the entire creature exploded. Eden fell to her knees, once again adversely affected by the dispersing shadows. Her heart rate became rapid, her breathing even more labored, and every joint in her body ached. The shadows exacerbated her physical issues.

_I shouldn't have taken two duels so close together,_ she thought to herself. Each time a released god card is summoned, the card consumes a portion of the duelist's spirit; in essence, she summoned four god cards in a short span of time, opening her for a wide range of symptoms.

Matt smiled. "That's two down. To make things a little easier, I'll activate Breaker's ability to destroy your Dimensional Fissure once again." The spell counter on Breaker's sword disconnected and fell into the void; the resulting shockwaves sealed over the tear once again, enabling access to the Graveyard once again. "Without all our cards being removed from play, it ought to get a little easier to make some plays. I'll end my turn after Breaker (-1600) destroys D.D. Scout Plane (800)." Even without the spell counter, Breaker's sword was powerful enough to cut through Eden's mechanical eyeball. Matt 5400: Eden 3600 + 500 + 500 – 800 = 3800.

The room became dark for Eden. Her eyes were filled with shadows; her peripheral vision faded and her field of view narrowed quickly and significantly. If she couldn't take control over the shadows, her illness would take her directly; there would be no more delays and no more miracle solutions.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked cautiously. Eden accidentally let her confident façade slip and showed an instant of weakness. "I thought you said this magical 'poison gas' couldn't affect you. Oddly enough, it seems like you're the _only_ one being affected."

"Worry about yourself," Eden grumbled. She adamantly stomped her feet when she was again upright. "After I draw, I discard three cards for the effect of Mirage of Nightmare. Now I'll send D.D. Survivor (1800) to attack Breaker (1600)."

"You forget about my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow? It negates the attack and resets itself for use in a later turn." Eden's armored warrior bounced off the iron scarecrow and returned to her field only to return to its cloaked position.

"Fine. Take your turn."

"Great idea," Matt agreed. He drew one card—the only one in his hand—and said, "I'll end my turn."

Eden let a quick laugh slip. Despite Matt's big talk, even he couldn't make a play during every single turn. She drew again for Mirage of Nightmare during Matt's turn and discarded two of her cards now. She finally found some of the cards she waited for.

"I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." The green pot now smiled on her side of the field, unlocking her deck. "I'll discard one of those cards to Special Summon The Tricky (5/2000/1200)." Her field showed a caped jester wearing a black and yellow outfit with big red question marks over his face and chest. "Now I can use the effect of that Destiny Hero – Malicious I just discarded; by removing it from play, I can summon another Malicious (6/800/800) from my deck." First, her Graveyard showed the image of demon's face, with three horns facing forward and either side, crying out in pain. The cry called from her deck a beast with an identical face. The beast was not very tall, but he was muscular and clothed only by thick patches of fur. He had bat-like wings and two tails, and just generally resembled Devilman. "Now I can send all three of my monsters to the Graveyard to summon The Winged Dragon of Ra (10/+3700/+3700)!"

Starting as an orb in the distance and growing to the size of the room, Ra appeared in the duel as a mighty, golden phoenix. As bright as the Stardust Dragon had been on the field, The Winged Dragon of Ra was as the sun. Matt held his hand over his eyes to shield from the golden light—wondering how the Duel Disk projectors could even _provide_ that much light—and he noticed a significant rise in the temperature of the room. Either the volcano was acting up, or Ra's appearance on the field had some kind of unnatural effect on the duel; Matt wasn't _absolutely sure_ which, but all the talk about magic and the Shadow Realm kept a part of him open to the idea that Ra might be an actual, physical embodiment of the power that used to be sealed within the card.

"Ra's power is equal to the cumulative power I paid to summon him. You can't even activate a spell, trap, or monster effect during the turn Ra is summoned. Ra (4600) can destroy Breaker (1600) without any possible backlash. That ends my turn." Matt 5400 – 3000 = 2400: Eden 3800 - 3700 + 500 = 600.

Eden could finally breathe easier now. The only monsters ever known to combat Ra on an even footing are Slifer and Obelisk, and the three-headed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Matt didn't have any such cards in his deck, meaning his chances of winning were practically nil. And Ra's very presence strengthened her body in the shadows, alleviating many of her symptoms and making her feel stronger.

"I bet you aren't so eager to duel against me now," she taunted.

"Why? Because I finally broke a sweat? It was bound to happen in this room; do I need to repeat my point about the volcano underfoot?"

Tough words, but Matt was in a tough spot. He had a good trap on the field, but it was useless against Ra, and he had only one card in his hand. A good draw here wouldn't be enough; he needed a _great_ draw.

"I'll set a monster in defense mode," he spoke softly.

Eden laughed. "That's your best defense? Your monster is easy pickings for my Gren Maju da Eiza (3/+3200/+3200)." An archfiend-like monster appeared with green muscles and a red exoskeleton covering the torso, wings, and tail. Its head was marked by no mouth but a five-horned crown matching the claws on each finger.

"Not so," Matt reminded her. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates that attack. Ra can still attack…" He stared intently at the scene as Ra's massive, golden body incinerated his Apprentice Magician (2/400/800).

There! It was slight, and possibly an optical illusion based in the brightness of Ra's light, but Matt saw a holographic version of Ra—transparent and no brighter than the Stardust Dragon—follow the same trajectory as Ra _a half-second behind the attack!_ That means…

"Holy hell! That thing is real?" Matt jumped backward and collided with the wall of the bunker. He tried to find something to hide behind, but the wall was bare and he felt like his second holographic Apprentice Magician wasn't a real defense.

"You just realized that? Even though I already told you?" Eden scoffed once again and explained, "These cards hold spirits of the Shadow Realm's physical embodiments. With their seals dissolved, those spirits can combine with the shadows to create physical bodies once again."

"How were they sealed to begin with if they have that kind of power?"

"Who cares? It probably had to do with their immortality; a body cannot be destroyed as long as the spirit remains intact. What's more important is that Ra makes me strong and makes you weak. If you cannot pull off another miracle to defeat him, you will die right here."

Matt slowly got ready to keep dueling, but he remained pinned to the back wall. "How encouraging," he uttered. He drew his next card with a surprising level of panic flooding him. How was he supposed to hurt a real monster? Were the rules of dueling suspended, or could a stronger monster still hurt Ra? But how could it? That didn't even make sense, a hologram killing a real creature.

"Were Obelisk and Slifer real, too?"

"Of course they were," Eden scoffed matter-of-factly.

Well, that was a bit of a relief. If Obelisk and Slifer were destroyed by Matt's cards, there's no reason Ra wouldn't be, right?

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn."

"You do that," Eden laughed. "I'll summon the D.D. Warrior Lady (4/1500/1600)." Eden's new monster was a woman with long, blonde hair, wearing an outfit of black leather and carrying an energy knife. "Gren Maju da Eiza (3200) will attack your monster." She fully expected Matt to activate one of his trap cards right away when her archfiend slashed at the purple-clad wizard, yet he didn't. She knew the only way to keep Matt from defending himself was to have D.D. Warrior Lady remove Apprentice Magician from play, but if she attacked with the Warrior Lady first, her attack would be negated by Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. Perhaps Matt was smarter than she was after all, or he at least figured out her strategy right away. "I'll have D.D. Warrior Lady (1500) attack the Magician of Faith (1/300/400) you just set."

Her warrior lunged with the energy knife in hand, but her attack was halted by the abrupt rising of the iron scarecrow, like stepping on the teeth of a rake and watching it whip up to smack you in the face. "I'll use Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to negate that attack."

Eden groaned. One more turn… "Ra (3700) will destroy your monster instead."

"I'll use her flip effect to take back Polymerization," Matt told her. His tiny, purple-haired magician left behind a spell that kept the Graveyard opened as she descended. Eden disapproved of Matt's overconfidence, but the very fact that he defeated Obelisk and Slifer after only a few turns made her believe there actually was a chance he could beat Ra. Matt thought so, too.

"I'll activate my facedown Return from the Different Dimension." A massive tear appeared in the dimension just over the Graveyard, and some of Matt's monsters began to peek their heads through. "At the cost of half my Life Points, I can summon any of my removed-from-play monsters to my field. You should recognize most of them, being the one who removed them, after all. I'll play two Cyber Dragons (2100), Cyber Dragon Zwei (1500), Dark Magician (2500), and Stardust Dragon (2500)." Three metal serpents, a powerful magician, and a shining dragon all reappeared on the field. "I know they seem weak compared with Ra, but that card my Magician of Faith just gave me can change things." He started to play it, then realized, "First I just have to show you my Polymerization spell card in my hand to make Cyber Dragon Zwei the same as Cyber Dragon." Now he had three identical serpents on the field. "Polymerization merges my three dragons into a three-headed beast among the strongest in the game: the Cyber End Dragon (10/4000/2800)."

Eden gasped. Suddenly her pain came back despite Ra's protection and strength. Matt's field presented a mechanical serpent with open wings, blue stones studded in its belly, and three heads—the product of fusing three Cyber Dragons. It may not be quite the match for the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, but it was sufficient to take down Eden's sun god.

"Now Cyber End Dragon (4000) can eliminate Ra (3800) from the field." When the three blasts from Matt's monster converged on Ra's body, the shadows expelled violently, thrusting both duelists back into the walls. Matt had to turn around just to shield his face from the intense force that threatened to incinerate his body. Matt 2400 / 2 = 1200: Eden 600 – 200 = 400.

A hideous shriek erupted from Eden as the shadows consumed her body. The shadows didn't even wait for Matt's Dark Magician (2500) or Stardust Dragon (2500) to attack D.D. Warrior Lady (1500) to end the duel; the flow of energy was repelling them from this dimension, and in a desperate effort to remain, the shadows attempted to merge with either Eden or Matt. Eden was rent almost immediately; her body and spirit were too weak to inhabit. When a similar phenomenon occurred with Julian, it left him in a steaming pile of burnt flesh distorted by the unnatural merging of shadows with flesh. The same effect happened to Eden.

Matt's temperature spiked, his heart rate became high and erratic, and he felt as if his skin was searing off his bones. He was unable to hear anything over the roar of the surging energy until his ears shut off and blocked out all the noise. All he heard was a soft, indistinct voice:

"_My soul is yet incomplete. If you die, I will die."_

----------

Bryan walked away from Julian's charred remains, carefully stepped over the fluids Cary expelled when she saw what happened to Julian's body, and rejoined Dr. Apple and Numbers in the hallway. Just then, his PDA buzzed with a message from Baker.

"Julian Keene & Eden McCrae former Guardians. Know advisor? She's paying room and board."

* * *

_I apologize for the inordinately long chapter. I figure it would be at least four parts animated as part of the show. I suppose I could have broken it into two, smaller chapters, but I didn't see a good cut point, and it would just be annoying to get halfway through a duel and make you wait for the next chapter, don't you think?_

_I cheated Haruki out of using his Lightsworn deck to its potential for a few reasons: Number 1, doing otherwise would make the chapter _even longer_! Number 2, Lightsworn monsters really are hampered by D.D. decks and I already established that Eden runs one; Number 3, don't think you've seen the last of the Lightsworns._

_I hope this chapter is good evidence that even though I'm trying to get through this story arc so I can get started on the next one, I'm not trying to skimp on the duels. (By the way, adding in descriptions of the card effects and appearances increases the word count by almost 50%.) The next chapter should tie up a great deal of the arc, giving more details behind Julian and Eden's history and their connection to their boss. There won't be a duel, making it a shorter chapter, but it should answer the majority of the questions you have to this point._

_As always: I love feedback!_


	17. The Beginning and The End

Chapter 17: The Beginning and The End

"Duel Academy's student duel against Godwin Academy is coming up again," Julian told Eden. He sat in a leather chair in front of a computer in their two-bedroom apartment and called the news down the hall where Eden sat in front of the TV. "Do you want to go? Apparently this year, they have a freshman in the duel."

"Really?" Eden asked with a chuckle. "I'm a little surprised Dr. West would allow that."

Julian just smiled. "They're _both_ freshmen, it looks like."

"Oh. That figures."

Julian and Eden hooked up before their own graduation from Duel Academy two years before the Guard Trio enrolled. They got a two-bedroom apartment together at the start of their efforts in a professional dueling career, but Eden's career ended before it even began. She was prone to heart problems, the primary issues being frequent atrial fibrillation and shortness of breath. She wasn't a sickly woman by any means, but there were periods in the day when she had to stop and simply rest without moving until the atrial fibrillation stopped. Unfortunately, the atrial fibrillation wasn't caught until she experienced a transient ischemic attack, or a mini-stroke. A blood clot in her heart dislodged and worked its way into her brain.

The TIA was said to be a warning for an oncoming stroke. Eden experienced multiple attacks, and even though she hadn't experienced a full-blown stroke yet, she worried each time that she would suffer permanent cell death. The worst case scenario was Eden with permanent neurological damage that left her unable to handle herself in a duel. She quit professional dueling immediately and took an easier life doing office work; the reduced stress, she thought, would keep her safer. Julian became a judge for a local youth dueling league so that he could stay home and take care of Eden. He made sure she took her Coumadin and never had to push herself too hard.

"Are you okay heading there early?" Julian asked. "We should probably take a ship. It'll be safer than a plane for you. Less of an altitude change."

"That's fine. I guess I can book us a hotel room in Kazuki."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Maybe I can even talk to Maya about getting an alumni discount or something." After all, Maya was their faculty advisor back then.

Maya Kawamura was actually so pleased to hear that Julian and Eden were visiting for the School Duel that she opted to pay for their hotel registration. She also asked to meet with them off campus as a way to catch up and talk about life since graduation. They agreed and met at a restaurant packed with visitors for the School Duel taking their student children out for dinner because "they just aren't eating right since they left home."

After getting past the initial small talk—"How are you?" "How's the campus?" "Any chance this freshman will lose the School Duel?"—Maya startled Eden with her knowledge.

"Has your atrial fibrillation improved?"

Eden was shocked because she hadn't shared that information beyond Julian. She looked to him, but he assured her that he didn't bring it up when he spoke to her earlier. Maya admitted that she accessed Eden's medical history.

"You can do that?" Julian asked. He was impressed; Eden was offended by the tremendous breach of privacy.

"You'd be surprised what I can do with a computer," Maya told them. "But I knew that you had heart problems even back when you were a student. I took a glance at your patient history, too, and found out that it runs in your family. I assume you are taking some kind of coagulant as treatment. Warfarin, perhaps?"

"Yes. Coumadin is the brand name," Julian admitted.

"That's a shame," Maya told them. "The treatment is just a stall to prevent a full-blown stroke, am I right?" She already knew the answer, but she was successfully making Eden feel sicker than usual. Eden's expression sunk, she dropped her shoulders, and she put her fingers over her heart as if to prepare for another attack. "Am I correct to assume that you ended your potential dueling career out of fear? The stress of high-level, competitive dueling could contribute to another transient ischemic attack or even a full stroke, and sufficient nerve damage could permanently impair your cognitive ability—your ability to duel." Eden looked too distressed even to answer.

"What if I could provide you with a real cure?"

Fear and distress were replaced with shock and hope. "What?"

"I discovered a book of magic capable of enhancing spiritual energy. Transforming that spiritual energy into physical stamina will heal you." It took a few minutes of repeating that claim in different words for Eden and Julian to understand what Maya was saying.

"Are you some kind of witch?" Julian asked softly to avoid drawing attention—and cautiously in case she was the vengeful type of witch.

"I prefer the term _mystic_," she replied. She explained that during her years of study into ancient civilizations and cultures, she believed she came across every single story of supernatural powers imaginable, and this was the first book that ever produced tangible results.

"This book can really cure my heart problems?" Eden asked hopefully.

"It can, but in order for the spell to be completely successful, we need a sufficient energy supply."

"What kind of energy?"

"In order to enhance spiritual energy, you need spiritual energy," she said simply. "The greatest concentration of spiritual energy imaginable exists in a realm separate from our own—a higher plane of existence known in legend as the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm…" Eden repeated. "Didn't the legends say that the god cards came from the Shadow Realm?"

"Yeah. I thought that was just a myth," Julian added.

"The realm exists," Maya assured them. "The only myth lies in the distortions of the story over time. The god cards possess the greatest concentrations of spiritual energy and provide a direct link to the Shadow Realm. I'm sure you can imagine the problems inherent with using the god cards as an energy source."

"I can't imagine Dr. West is okay just giving them away," Julian noted, "but what if we borrowed them just long enough to make Eden healthy again and then gave them back?"

Maya shook her head. "The spell will not work completely without all of the god cards, and not while their powers are sealed." She gave them a detailed account of how energy from the Shadow Realm was imprisoned within each of the cards; that is why they were long revered as sacred objects.

"How can we break their seals?" Julian asked. Maya noticed it right away; Julian was already committed to whatever plan she spelled out. He just wanted Eden to be perfectly healthy, and he didn't mind the idea of collecting all the god cards. Maya remembered the unique thing about Julian and Eden when they were enrolled at Duel Academy: They each made multiple god cards shine. Julian showed perfect affinity for each of the Sacred Beasts, and Eden showed equal affinity for each of the Egyptian Gods.

"We must complete a ritual that will weaken the seal on the gods. Then we must take control of them and allow the gods to absorb spiritual energy from people."

"People?" Eden repeated, somewhat surprised.

"Yes. The most abundant source of energy is the human spirit. Some people are stronger than others, but the spiritual energy possessed by even a weak person is greater than that possessed by other organisms… and significantly easier to obtain."

"How?"

"Through a duel." She saw the baffled look present on both faces and gave a pop culture reference. "Did you read the last _Harry Potter_ book? Remember how that ultimate wand would only work for the person who won it from its current possessor? The mythos is true; the same basic rule applies to all transfers of extreme power."

"That's the real reason the Guardians can't lose the god cards unless they lose a duel?" Julian asked. He was barely aware of this fact because he was not much of a studier in school, opting instead to go out partying most of the time. His grades were only decent, and so looking at it from a purely objective viewpoint, he was not ranked among the top six students; he was merely the best duelist of his era.

"Exactly. Weighing the costs and the benefits, are you willing to participate in my effort?" She put on a serious expression and rephrased the question. "Are you willing to do everything you can to protect yourself?" She already knew Julian was in, and so she directed that last question to Eden specifically.

"I am," Eden agreed. She figured taking energy from a few people wouldn't kill them, and it would be totally worth it to render herself fully healthy. Besides, if they focused on the strongest duelists, they wouldn't need to hurt as many people. Of course, things don't always go as planned.

"Good. It will take time for us to prepare the spells completely. I will procure you an apartment in town to keep you close and facilitate the preparations."

----------

Maya closed her book and extinguished the candles spread throughout the room. She gathered the card lying on the table; it now had a small piece of the Shadow Realm's energy sealed within, as much as could be collected from a short-lived spell. All that was left was to hack into the Kaiba Corp. database and input the necessary information about this new card.

"In two days," she explained to Julian and Eden, "a plane will arrive at the Kazuki airport bearing the representative from Hawkins University." She held the newly created card out to her protégés. "You must incorporate yourself with him. Familiarize yourselves with the background information I gave you to learn how to act around young Ulrich. Act as if you are still Duel Academy students, but do so without saying so. Let him think that, but leave yourself open to convince Duel Academy students you are from Hawkins. With any luck, expectations will prevent anyone from pointing out explicitly where you two are from. The chances are good, considering how egocentric people tend to be and how much information people assume based on context."

"Of course," Julian said. "And then, undoubtedly, Nussbaum will invite Schwartz to hang out at the Guardian house. We'll stick close by to be sure the spell within this card has a compatible effect on the god cards and their Guardians."

Eden's concern was in the effect Maya added to the new card: What if Ulrich didn't use fiend-type monsters? That's why she reviewed the notes on Ulrich's dueling style and learned that his big trump card was a fiend monster that required more fiends in order to be played; there was no doubt he would jump over a card that let him summon fiends without restrictions. It wasn't important whether the card would help Ulrich win. What mattered was the card was played within one hundred yards of all the god cards—like when they were all gathered to witness the School Duel.

"We're almost there," Maya assured them. "The Ars Almadel has already empowered us to have the strength of four duelists. When we obtain three god cards each, we will each have the strength of ten duelists. Control of the shadows is a small step from there."

----------

"Why did you kidnap Nussbaum?" Maya demanded. She was pacing back and forth angrily in the basement of her home, desperately trying to come up with a way to fix things. She avoided walking into the table where she invoked the spiritual energy of the Shadow Realm and the candle stands used to form the symbol on the floor, but the room was dark and any time she even bumped into a candle stand, it upset her even more. Justin was passed out and tied up in the corner of the room.

"After all that preparation, you go and risk our plans by committing such a stupid crime?"

Julian got defensive. "He was asking too many questions when he found out we weren't getting on the plane back to Hawkins. We were wearing Hawkins logos. He could have spoiled our plans by pointing out the fact that we aren't really students of either school."

"Let him!" she shouted. "What difference would it make? The spell has already been cast!"

"We thought this could make things easier," Eden suggested. "The seal on the god cards weakens over time as the spirits within the cards start to feed off the Guardians, right? By kidnapping one of them, surely we'll weaken the others while they worry and panic over the wellbeing of their roommate. Emotional distress is the best source of exhaustion and illness. That way, the gods can take control even more quickly."

Maya stopped pacing. A part of her actually liked the way that sounded. "Maybe… we could fashion another spell to hypnotize Nussbaum and give us control over his actions." She started pacing again, but this time in an excited, hopeful manner. "Yes… The Ars Paulina could also be used to take control of the other Guardians. If we have them collecting spiritual energy from the other students on campus _for_ us, we can shorten this process by months—maybe we'll even finish within a week or two."

"Can they collect spirits without using the god cards?" Eden asked. "I thought the gods were necessary to open the way for the spirits to enter the Shadow Realm."

"True," Maya said. She paced again to consider how to accommodate this limitation.

"Is it possible to make fakes?" Julian asked.

Maya stopped pacing abruptly. "The Ars Theurgia…"

She pointed to Julian. "Go grab the book. I'll ready the spell. As soon as Nussbaum is under our influence, we'll grab the others one by one."

----------

"Are you two going to be okay?"

Dr. Apple escorted Bryan and Cary outside the Medici building, despite the fact that Cary was practically gliding like a ghost—totally emotionless with little motion—and Bryan was spooked as if he'd seen one. He just learned that his faculty advisor was probably the one who kidnapped him and hypnotized him into dueling on behalf of the Shadow Realm.

"The Ars Paulina…" he uttered suddenly.

"What does that mean?" Cary asked softly.

"I think it was a card. I think… maybe that's what Maya used to hypnotize me." He let out a nervous laugh. "But that's silly, right? I mean… cards hypnotizing people? How ridiculous!"

"Over the ages," Dr. Apple started, "many books have been written with claims of invoking magical powers. The vast majority are clearly false claims, but perhaps there is one capable of tapping into the power we call the Shadow Realm."

"…And that could hypnotize me?" Bryan asked nervously, his voice trailing off at the end.

Dr. Apple shrugged. "Who's to say? I have never read such a book. Perhaps it was not hypnotism but the invocation of a lesser demon to possess your body and complete its bidding until such time as it was eliminated by the loss of a duel. It's difficult to be certain."

Bryan considered it for a moment, imagining a demon—it looked like one of the little pygmies from _The Mummy Returns_ in his mind—wriggling its way into his brain and poking neurons like a video game controller. Finally he said:

"That seems a little far-fetched."

Dr. Apple smiled. "Perhaps. We will know more when Roger and the police finish raiding both Maya's home and the apartment she rented for Julian. I wonder if anyone found Eden."

Cary's eyes popped open. She grabbed Bryan's collar and screamed into his face, "You made him go to the power station at the volcano! What if what happened to Julian happened to him, too!"

"Matt is at the power station?" Dr. Apple assumed she meant. "I'm sure he is okay. Bryan came out of it in one piece."

"Not _one_ piece," Bryan argued light-heartedly as he craned his neck to look at the damage to his jacket. He picked at a few of the tears for a moment, which caused Cary to scoff angrily and shove Bryan away from her. He stumbled but remained upright, which actually upset her even more. How could he be so nonchalant about all this magic going on around him?

"We need to go there right now and protect him," she said almost hysterically. She seemed almost impossible to calm until Dr. Apple put his hand on her shoulder. She settled almost instantly, and Bryan watched carefully to see if maybe Dr. Apple palmed a sedative when he touched her.

"I assure you Matt is stronger than you think." He removed his hand from Cary's shoulder—no sedative—and put on a smile. It was an oddly comforting smile considering the situation in which he managed a smile.

"Weren't you going to stay with Dr. West and protect the other students?" Cary asked him.

"There is only one remaining rogue," he replied, stressing his faith that Matt could defeat Eden. "The students are safe now. When we find the book Maya used to infect the students and staff via the god cards, we will able to reverse the spell and bring everyone back to normal."

"Just like that?" Cary and Bryan asked almost simultaneously.

"Just like that," he assured them.

A thick, female voice from behind them declared, "Well, not _just_ like that."

----------

"Matt?"

_What's with the motion? Am I in an earthquake?_

"Come on, Matt. You have a pulse. There's no bleeding. Wake up!"

_Bleeding? Why would I bleed?_

Matt opened his eyes through great effort until he could gaze upon the bright storage room. _Was it this bright before? _Of course not; someone else came in and found the light switch panel behind the right side of the door. Matt, sadly, went to the left when he entered and never really looked for a light switch, let alone five of them.

"Matt!"

"Darius?" Darius Mantzios, Matt's roommate and victim to many of his practical jokes, knelt by him as he lay on the floor. Darius looked pretty harried—his hair was rattier than usual, his jacket was lopsided because he skipped a button on one side, and his T-shirt under the jacket had some kind of food stain on the collar—but he did seem pleased that Matt was able to open his eyes.

Matt's next concern was whether he was bleeding and why it happened to begin with. He hopped to his feet and looked at his clothes. His jacket was practically shredded and his T-shirt looked like he'd worn it since fifth grade. His chest was visible underneath, and he could also see his shins under the tatters that used to be his pants. His skin looked like someone played tic-tac-toe with a dull box cutter because he wasn't bleeding.

He vaguely remembered the force of energy that hit him after he—_Did I win the duel?_ His Duel Disk was still on and the Life Point counter indicated 1350 LP. That means he won, right? He shut it down to conserve the battery and picked up a few of his cards that hit the floor during that energy explosion. _Oh, yeah; the shadows…_ They hit him hard and beat him down; the fact that the belly of his shirt and the pleats of his pants were still intact suggested he fell into the fetal position.

"Why are you here?" he asked his newer roommate.

"We had a power surge in the gymnasium. Everyone freaked out, and during the panic, I sneaked out. The power plant seems okay and it is locked, but I saw the front door to this room wide open and decided to see who was here."

"What happened to Eden?"

Darius shook his head and said, "I don't know who that is, but that right there looks like it was a person before being burned."

Unfortunately, he was right. Eden's body was in a similar state to Julian's—only barely resembling a human body anymore. Her body was burned from the inside out; her skin was char-black and blotchy due to burst blood vessels, her hair stood on end, and only her teeth remained perfectly intact. Her eyes glossed over as if covered by a thin layer of white glass.

"What happened to her?" Darius asked.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Matt replied. He couldn't even seem to blink, let alone take his eyes off the body. He got close and knelt down… not sure why. He just wanted a closer look to know for certain if it was the same woman he dueled. When he was convinced, he looked slowly to Darius and said, "Let's get out of here."

"And go where?" Darius asked.

Matt shrugged. "First we'll go find Bryan, and then we'll call Baker about this bunker. Bryan was at the Guardian house when I left him."

----------

Bryan fidgeted a little as he faced his—probably "former" by now—faculty advisor. Maya wore the same kind of black cloak the Guardians and her weak-hearted protégés wore, but she didn't bother to put up the hood. Everyone knew who she was by now, and it wouldn't matter as soon as she completed the ritual and her ascent was complete.

"I don't suppose you're here to congratulate me on defeating all three Sacred Beast Cards at once," Bryan nervously commented.

"No," Maya replied. "In order for the Ars Notoria to be complete, I must take back all that power that my partners borrowed from the Ars Almadel. Because they have been consumed by the shadows already, I must replace their roles in the formula with the duelists who defeated them. Prepare to duel!"

* * *

_They're like the Mafia, aren't they? There's always another rung up the ladder. I convinced you Julian and Eden were behind things, and now I've shown that even they had to be poked and prodded in that direction by someone who spent decades studying and "protecting" the god cards._

_My working title for the next arc is "For Love & the Game." It's going to involve a lot more social interactions and interpersonal conflict with the plot conflict being a steady, subtle, background thing throughout the arc. Any feedback on whether this is a stupid title? It seems appropriate for the story, very cliché__, and a little goofy, so be honest with your opinion; it won't hurt my feelings.  
_

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	18. I Am the Alpha and the Omega

Chapter 18: I Am the Alpha and the Omega

"You're really behind all this?" Bryan asked Maya. He kept a stern countenance in order to appearance angry, but in actuality, he was exhausted by his recent tenure as a Shadow Realm lackey and a duel against the three Sacred Beasts. Maya could see it in his eyes.

"Let us simply get this duel over with. As soon as I defeat you, I can go after Julian or your friend—whoever ended winning that duel."

Cary gasped, "Matt took on the Egyptian God Cards?"

"I am sure Matt will be fine," Dr. Apple told her. "He is stronger than you realize."

Bryan wasn't worried about Matt; anyone capable of bringing Bryan to a tie in a duel was able to hold his own in a duel. The more pressing concern was that Bryan was exhausted by now. The Shadow Realm takes a toll on the human body. That's why Bryan had a few questions before he tried to squeeze out one more duel.

"How are you doing this?" he asked vaguely. He shook his head and decided to rephrase the question. "How can you control the Shadow Realm so easily when it feels like it was killing me?"

"Magic," was Maya's equally vague reply. "The mystical arts of Solomon give me greater duel strength than you can imagine." She activated her Duel Disk—prompting Bryan to wonder what kind of deck she was ready to use—and demanded, "Let's hurry with this duel so I can finally open the path into the Shadow Realm."

Cary was too scared to say anything and Dr. Apple simply stood by quietly. But Bryan had plenty of questions. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Power."

Bryan had to stop for a second to process such a short answer. "What?" He rubbed his face and said, "Did you really just say _power_ is the reason you're trying to kill everyone on the island?"

"No one is dying," Maya assured him. "A certain amount of energy is required to open the path into the Shadow Realm. Once I have ascended and immersed myself in the pure consciousness of the Shadows, the people here will start to recover. It may take a few months, but such is life." She patted her Duel Disk as an indicator that Bryan should activate his and prepare for a duel.

"But why?" Bryan insisted.

Maya groaned. She was eager to finish her plan when it was so close to fruition, but if a few minutes of explanation could speed this duel along, maybe it was worth it.

"I want power," she said. "I've seen what the gods can do with mere fraction of the power of the Shadow Realm. The collective energy within that realm is that of a god. I will draw all of that energy into myself, and then I will be powerful enough to influence the course of human events with my will."

"Is that really all? You just want to be powerful?" Maya gave a short nod. Bryan seemed momentarily frightened, but suddenly he blurted out, "That's ridiculous. You realize that make you no different from any of the other legends of the Shadow Realm? Everybody just wants power for the sake of power. Don't you have any _real_ goals, like finding a good man or winning the Kentucky derby?" He scoffed loudly and activated his Duel Disk. An electronic signal connected the two Duel Disks and began calculating Life Points.

Bryan put on a serious expression. "When I beat you, all the magic stops and everyone recovers immediately, right?"

"Of course," Maya agreed. What did she care about the stakes? There was no way Bryan could defeat her. The Elemental Heroes weren't strong enough to face the power hidden within her deck.

"I'll begin this duel with Pyramid Turtle (4/1200/1400)." Maya's field was defended by a gray turtle with a stone pyramid in place of a shell. She declined to play any other cards.

"That's all?" Bryan laughed. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Neos Alius (4/1900/1300)." Bryan was joined by a warrior wearing a white, skin-tight outfit with a blue jewel on his chest, a yellow jewel on his forehead, and curved spikes on his elbows and the top of his head. "I'll have him destroy your turtle." Neos Alius (1900) slammed his fist down on top of the Pyramid Turtle (1200), shattering the pyramid and destroying the monster.

"When you destroy my monster," Maya explained, "I get to summon from my deck any zombie with 2000 defense points or fewer. I choose Double Coston (4/1700/1650)." Two black ghosts connected to one another at the rear appeared on the field and began hovering in circular motions. Bryan knew that monster may be weaker than his, but it could be dangerous because Double Coston gets to be treated as two Tributes if Maya wants to summon a dark monster.

Bryan ended by saying, "I'll set two cards and end my turn." Bryan 8000: Maya 8000 – 700 = 7300.

Maya smiled when she drew. She was less talkative during a duel than her two underlings, but much more so than the shadows that drove the Guardians to wield fake god cards against the student population.

"I'll play Premature Burial to revive Pyramid Turtle (1200), but then I'll send the Turtle and Double Coston to the Graveyard to summon my god card." When her monsters disappeared, the shadows swarmed the field as far as Bryan's eye could see. Cary and Dr. Apple—standing only eight yards away—could only barely see what was happening. As the mist covered the ground like a burning pork chop, the shadows seemed to accumulate in the air, beginning as a small collection and growing into an enormous, black orb.

"The Wicked Avatar (10/?/?) is the most powerful collection of the Shadow Realm ever sealed within a card," Maya explained. "Just watch." Slowly, the black orb began shifting in shape; after a few seconds of remolding, the former orb now looked like a black-armored version of Neos Alius. "The Wicked Avatar (+2000/+2000) copies the strongest monster on the field, and then it amplifies the monster's strength until it has 100 points more. In other words, you cannot possibly defeat it." She initiated a battle between Bryan's monster and her darker version.

"Not so fast," Bryan replied, but the button on his Duel Disk wasn't responding. The trap card he so purposefully set to protect his monster wouldn't activate. "Is my Duel Disk malfunctioning because of the shadows?" he wondered.

Maya chuckled. "No. The shadows never unfairly interfere with a duel. It is The Wicked Avatar that prevents your cards from activating right now. For two of your turns after this monster was summoned, you will be unable to use any spells or traps." Bryan's monster tried to block its assailant, but it got clocked in the face after a feint attack. When it was destroyed, Bryan saw Maya's Avatar (-?/-?) return to orb form. Bryan 8000 – 100 = 7900: Maya 7300 – 800 = 6500.

"That's pretty cool," Bryan commented, "but your monster lost the power of Neos Alius. That means I can summon another monster now and take down your big black ball. I'll summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird (3/800/600)." A red-feathered, human-shaped bird flew to Bryan's field; it had large white wings on its back and a collection of white tail feathers. "How do you like that?"

"I'm fine with it," Maya replied. Her monster began to reshape itself once more until it resembled a black Air Hummingbird. Once again, The Wicked Avatar (+900/+900) was the strongest monster on the field.

"Are you serious?" Bryan said incredulously. "That thing will _always_ be the strongest monster on the field?"

"I already said that," she pointed out. "What will you do now that you have only a weak monster on the field and you cannot play any spells or traps?"

Bryan shrugged and let out an annoyed scoff. "I guess all I can do is to use Air Hummingbird's effect to take 500 LP per card in your hand." Bryan 7900 + 2000 = 9900: Maya 6500.

Maya wasn't fazed in the slightest by Bryan's sudden Life Point increase. "I'll summon Mezuki (4/1700/800)." A brown, horse-faced man appeared on Maya's field, armed with a ripped skirt around the waist and an ax in hand. Then a second one appeared—black this time; The Wicked Avatar (+1800/1800) copied Mezuki.

"Dude, that is one powerful monster," Bryan noted. "It just copied one of your monsters instead of mine."

"It doesn't matter who owns the monster," Maya explained again. "The Wicked Avatar draws strength from the strongest monster on the field. And now I will lay waste to your monster _and_ to your Life Points." Mezuki (1700) sliced clean through Air Hummingbird (800) with its ax, then The Wicked Avatar (1800) used its own ax to attack Bryan. Bryan 9900 – 900 – 1800 = 7200: Maya 6500.

Bryan thoroughly felt the rushing energy that swarmed him during the attack. He didn't lose many Life Points, yet he felt like he was being cut straight across the chest, like an autopsy conducted while he was still alive and awake to feel it. He assumed this was what happened when a person spends that much time with the shadows in a single day.

"I'll put a monster in defense mode and end my turn," he declared.

"Out of strategies, are you?" Maya asked him. "I'll summon Zombie Master (4/1800/0) to my field." On her field appeared a man with wild gray hair, ragged clothes, and pallor like an albino. "By discarding one card, I can revive Pyramid Turtle (1200) to my field." She hummed at Bryan's field while her Avatar (+1900/+1900) reshaped into a black Zombie Master. "I'll begin my assault on your Neo-Spacians with my Wicked Avatar (1900)." Her monster focused a beam of energy toward Bryan's field.

Bryan forced a "haw-haw!" as he revealed his facedown Elemental Hero Woodsman (4/1000/2000), who easily blocked the beam. "I've found your monster's weakness. It may mimic the highest attack power on the field, but it can't do anything against a monster with higher _defense_!"

Maya asked him, "Do you really think you can win with your monsters in defense mode all the time?"

"Oh…" Bryan stopped to think about it for a second and said, "Yeah, good point. But I've got to be able to use my spells and traps again sometime, right?" He noticed Maya's amused smirk, but he didn't interpret it correctly.

"I'll end my turn." Bryan 7200: Maya 6500 – 100 = 6400.

Bryan drew and looked at his hand, and then he smacked himself in the head. "Oh, man! You said _two_ turns, didn't you? I wasted my Mirror Force!" He set the Mirror Force trap during the first turn and didn't get to use it because of The Wicked Avatar's seal. That seal faded after Bryan's last turn, yet he forgot to activate it during Maya's attack. "What's wrong with me?"

Maya chuckled. "You are weak. That's what's wrong."

"We'll see about that," Bryan decided. "With Woodsman's effect, I can take Polymerization from my deck. Graceful Charity lets me draw three cards and discard two." A robed, winged woman with a halo overhead appeared on the field and granted Bryan more cards. "I'll set a monster on the field and then end my turn."

"That was your big play?" Maya laughed to herself. "I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." A big, green pot appeared on the field, and her Duel Disk released her deck for two cards. "I'll Tribute my Zombie Master, Mezuki, and Pyramid Turtle in order to summon my second god card: The Wicked Dreadroot (10/4000/4000)!"

The shadows collected once again on Maya's field to form a green demon the size of an oak tree; it grew so large that only the torso was visible above the shadows. The demon wore bone armor apparently created from a defeated Summoned Skull, previously thought to be the strongest of fiend monsters. The new god's wingspan reached from one end of the field to the other. Bryan suddenly felt himself gripped in an inexplicable fear of this enormous beast, only to have that fear doubled when The Wicked Avatar (+4100/+4100) grew to copy its ally.

"Witness the rise of fear personified," Maya goaded soothingly. "See the power hidden under the surface. Submit to your fear and give me control of the Shadow Realm!"

Bryan hardly heard her words. He tried to be rational and remind himself that the monsters staring into his eyes were just holograms, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were a real threat to him. He wanted nothing more than to run to Lucy's side and hide from these two mammoth creatures, but even if his pride wouldn't force him to finish the duel, his knees were locked in place and wouldn't give him control of his feet. The closest he came was when his knees buckled as Dreadroot (4000) slashed with the claws over its knuckles and ripped Woodsman (-1000) asunder, then Avatar (+4100) did the same to Bryan's Cross Porter (2/400/400), a small man wearing red armor.

It finally took Dr. Apple saying, "Choose your Neo-Spacian, Bryan," to help Bryan break eye contact with The Wicked Dreadroot. His Duel Disk presented the list of Neo-Spacians that Bryan could move to his hand when Cross Porter was sent to the Graveyard; it took Bryan a full two minutes of mantra chanting ("co-King of Games, co-King of Games…") to figure out which card he wanted.

"I'll summon Neo-Spacian Dark Panther (3/-500/-250)!" As if fulfilling the role of a superhero, a large black feline wearing a black cape appeared in front of Bryan in an offensive pose. Bryan looked confused for a moment before asking, "What happened to his points? Is it my Duel Disk again?"

"No," Maya grumbled. "The Wicked Dreadroot spreads fear across the field; this has the dual effect of cutting in half the points of all monsters except himself and making you wet your pants."

Bryan scoffed and said, "Only a little. But what about your Wicked Avatar? Its points are still higher than Dreadroot's. Don't they get cut in half, too?"

"No. The Wicked Avatar does not have any points of its own, and therefore nothing to cut in half. The 4100 points it has now come directly from Dreadroot _after_ the fear effect has already spread. As I said before, The Wicked Avatar (4100) will _always_ be the strongest monster on the field, and it cannot be defeated."

Bryan cracked a grin. "I beg to differ. You see, my Neo-Spacian Dark Panther has a very special ability that makes him the perfect match to face The Wicked Avatar." Dark Panther's eyes began to shine with a blue hue, and then a matching blue hue shone over Avatar's eyes. Suddenly Dark Panther began to grow. "Once per turn, Dark Panther gets to copy the name and effect of a monster on your field." Bryan's man-sized feline reshaped itself until it, too, was a copy of The Wicked Dreadroot, and unaffected by the fear effect.

"Impossible," Maya uttered.

Bryan also looked pretty surprised. "Yeah! Go get 'im, Dark Panther (+4100)!" Bryan's monster, still a panther at heart, crouched low, then pounced harshly on top of The Wicked Avatar (4100). During the scuffle, each monster ended up wounding the other, and both faded from the field.

"You just forfeited your own monster," Maya grumbled.

"But at least I got rid of yours." Bryan was pretty pleased about that, but he was worried that he still had to contend with a god monster that weakened every other monster. Did he make a mistake not beating Dreadroot instead?

Maya drew harshly and said, "It's my turn. I'll activate Heavy Storm!" A powerful whirlwind whipped up in the middle of the field and drew in both of Bryan's facedown cards he was too scared to play. "Now I will have Dreadroot (4000) attack you directly!" Bryan let out a surprisingly high-pitched scream as a very lifelike Dreadroot smashed its fist over Bryan and whipped up a cloud of shadows overhead. Bryan 7200 – 4000 = 3200: Maya 6400.

----------

Dr. Apple and Cary both lost sight of Bryan after the attack, like waiting for the dust to settle after an explosion. As frightened as Bryan was facing the fearsome visage of The Wicked Dreadroot, Cary was scared stiff. She could hardly speak and hadn't removed herself from Dr. Apple's arm since The Wicked Dreadroot hit the field. The first instance of relaxing her grip came when she heard two voices approaching the lawn in front of the Medici building.

"Yeah, see? I told you someone else had to see that thing, too," one voice said. "It looks like Dr. Apple is over there."

"Of course it's Dr. Apple," the second, more familiar voice, said. "How many people on this campus are tall enough to knock on a second floor window without even getting up on his tippy toes?"

Cary unclenched and looked at the two people approaching. One was tall and had a Middle Eastern appearance, but the shorter one wore glasses and was white enough to glow in the dark. "Matt!" She rushed to him and jumped into his arms. "You're alive!"

"You, too," he replied eloquently. "What's going on?" He tried to continue approaching the field of shadows, but with Cary holding her position, he couldn't seem to get by. As a compromise, he put his arm around her lower back and lifted her just enough to carry her to where Dr. Apple stood.

"I am glad to see you in one piece," Dr. Apple offered rather nonchalantly. "Your friend is amid a duel with the perpetrator right now."

"Bryan's in there?" Matt asked, pointing to the dark cloud. "What is it?"

"He was attacked by a god monster, then the shadows covered the field like that," Cary described. "We were waiting for the shadows to fade a little so we can see if he's still alright. It looks like Maya is going to beat him if he can't figure out a way to beat her other god card."

Matt was confused. "What god cards? The Sacred Beasts?"

"_Jashin_; The Wicked Gods," Dr. Apple corrected him. "They influence the body just like the others, but these gods primarily influence the emotions, particularly fear. The Wicked Dreadroot has struck Bryan with such fear that, coupled with his exhaustion from his earlier duels, he will be unable to win. He has made many mistakes already."

"What will happen if he loses?" Darius asked.

Dr. Apple shrugged. "I assume Maya will ascend into a higher plane of existence and will continue to consume energy from the students until her ascent is complete. Some of them may die by that point; I don't know."

Matt disconnected from Cary and leaped into the fading cloud of shadows.

Bryan lay on the ground, struggling to get up. He was covered in dirt and looked like he had a hangover the size of Texas.

"Bryan!" Matt shouted.

"Don't yell!" Bryan replied loudly. Then he proceeded to groan loudly and grip his head; his own volume was louder than his headache could handle, too. "I don't feel so good."

Maya, on the other hand, seemed very happy. "I'm glad to see you, Luther. That will save me the trouble of needing to locate you when your friend here keels over."

Matt ignored her, though, and just tried to help Bryan. "Bro, you've got to get up. If you're even half as beat as I am from all that dueling, I know you're in a lot of pain, but this is more important. You have to finish this duel; beat her." Bryan seemed to react, but no matter how hard he pushed on the ground—even with Matt pulling on his shoulders—he couldn't get to his feet.

"If he chooses to forfeit," Maya pointed out, "I win the duel and his energy will feed the Ars Notoria. The final ingredient will be _your_ energy, Luther, to complete my ascent."

Matt set Bryan on the ground gently, then reached for his Duel Disk. "I have a better idea. How about I put my energy on the line right now?"

"What do you propose?"

He disconnected Bryan's Duel Disk from his sworn brother's arm and attached it to his own. "This will be a _real_ tag team duel. Bryan can't finish, so I will do it in his place."

"Really?" Maya was surprised by this suggestion. She motioned toward The Wicked Dreadroot, the massive, green demon ready to continue fighting as it spread a shadowy mist. "You realize I still have a god monster already on the field and twice your Life Points?"

Matt nodded. "I understand, but if Bryan set this up, I'm sure I can work with it." He took a moment to look through the Graveyard as he adjusted the Duel Disk and prepared to duel.

Technically, Maya could still decline the proposal—Bryan is already unable to continue dueling—but she decided to accept. The duel was clearly in her favor right now, and if she continued this duel, she wouldn't have to spend the energy necessary to summon her two Wicked Gods a second time. She would obtain the spiritual energy of both duelists at once!

"Very well. You may play Bryan's hand for him, then."

"Good. I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." A green pot with a smiling face appeared on the field. "I don't have much right now, but I do have Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (3/-150/-450)." A white moss grew amid the shadows in front of Matt, and then it grew to appear humanoid with no face save two, hollow eyes.

"Glow Moss is your big defense?" Maya laughed. "Against a god?" She chuckled more and sent her Dreadroot (4000) to attack.

"When Glow Moss battles, you have to draw a card. The course of the battle depends on what that card is."

Maya snapped her card from the deck and said, "I _know_ that." She gazed at her card, unsure how to respond. "I can't tell if this is lucky for you or bad for you. I drew a monster."

"Obviously, it's a good one," Matt noted. "But by drawing a monster, you ended your Battle Phase without attack. Glow Moss is safe. And now it's my turn again." He pulled a card from his hand and said, "I'll play O – Oversoul to revive Elemental Hero Neos Alius (-950) to the field. Right now he's treated as a regular Normal monster, but when I _double summon_ him, he gains a special effect."

Gemini monsters, like Neos Alius, are treated as Normal monsters in the hand, on the field, and in the Graveyard. But as the term _Gemini_ suggests, there is a second side to the monsters. They can be double summoned—in essence, Normal summoned while they are already on the field—in order to gain a special ability.

"Neos Alius becomes the same as Elemental Hero Neos. That means I can send Neos Alius and Glow Moss back to the deck to contact fuse them into Elemental Hero Glow Neos (7/-1250/-1000)." Matt's two monsters fused themselves until Neos's armor shone with the same glow as Glow Moss, additionally granting him a glowing javelin, charged with cosmic energy. "This is why Neos monsters are so powerful if you know how to use them: Once per turn, Glow Neos can destroy any card on the field, including a monster that isn't protected from monster effects."

Maya gasped, but it was too late. Glow Neos hurled his javelin directly into The Wicked Dreadroot's gut, piercing the massive god completely through. The light from Glow Neos's javelin dispersed the shadows that comprised Dreadroot and forced Maya's monster back into the shadows.

"When Glow Neos destroys a monster by his effect, he can't battle, so I'll play Contact Out to return Glow Neos to my Fusion Deck and summon Elemental Hero Neos (7/2500/2000) and Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (3/300/900) to the field. Without your Dreadroot around, the fear no longer affects my monsters, and their points stay at normal. Neos (2500) and Glow Moss (300) will each attack directly." Matt's muscular man wearing white armor leaped toward Maya sideways, spinning rapidly with his elbows out. The blades each slashed across Maya, but they were only holograms. Glow Moss revealed the image of three lights: red, green, and yellow. After Maya drew a spell, the green light illuminated and Glow Moss fired a beam directly at Maya. "I'll set one card and end my turn." Matt 3200: Maya 6400 – 2500 – 300 = 3600.

Maya wasn't bothered at all. She had exactly the three cards in her hand she needed to end this duel. "I'll activate the effect of Mezuki in my Graveyard; by removing him from play, I can revive the Zombie Master (1800) in my Graveyard and summon it to my field." Her pale zombie sprouted from the dirt below. "By discarding a card, I can activate Zombie Master's effect to revive Double Coston (1700)." Zombie Master channeled a beam of energy into the dirt, and the dual-ghost body of Double Coston rose and reappeared on the field.

"Uh oh," Matt uttered. It wasn't a big leap to figure there were three Wicked Gods, not after seeing three Egyptian Gods and three Sacred Beasts. Maya also had three Tributes on the field without using her Normal Summon yet. That made Matt glad he set a trap to protect himself.

"I'll send Zombie Master and Double Coston to the Graveyard to summon my third god: The Wicked Eraser (10/?/?)!" From the shadows emerged a serpent rivaling in size both Slifer the Sky Dragon and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. Its sleek, black body was covered in silver armor, topped with an ornate helmet. One roar from the beast was enough to cover Matt in goose bumps and make him wince in fear. If not for his best friend on the ground nearby, he might've fled the scene already.

"The Wicked Eraser (+3000/+3000) gains attack and defense points equal to 1000 times the number of cards on your field. That makes my monster the strongest on the field. But as powerful as this god is _on_ the field, it is his _removal_ that brings me the greatest advantage. The Wicked Eraser can destroy itself, and when it is destroyed, it takes with it every card on the field!" Maya's third god card began to focus all of its energy into its center; an eruption of such focused energy would result in a massive explosion.

Matt stared at the Duel Disk as it offered him the chance to activate his facedown card. He debated playing Waboku; doing so would protect him for the turn, but what was the point?

"What happens if you win this duel?" he asked Maya.

Excited that she thought she already did, she told him, "I will ascend into a higher plane of existence where I will gain power unimaginable by human minds. I will become a true god!"

"A god, huh?" Matt muttered. He opted not to activate his trap when Maya's monster reached the critical point. "If you want to see god so badly, then go right ahead!" The Wicked Eraser exploded, sending shockwaves of shadow energy all across the island. To those as far away as Kazuki, the shockwaves only gave them goose bumps, a brief sneezing fit, and a moment of uneasiness. To those near the center of the blast, they may as well have set themselves on fire. The sensation only lasted a second before everyone went numb from the searing pain.

When the explosion finally subsided and the field was clear again, the only lasting pain was intense joint aches and muscle spasms. Maya looked healthiest of everyone, and excited to be that way.

"I'll activate A Deal with Dark Ruler." Her spell could activate when a monster of level eight or higher was destroyed on her field. An apparition of Hades appeared before her, wearing fancy robes of royal blue and burgundy and an elaborate headdress; it went through the motions of brokering a deal, finally pointing to the ground. The location he indicated was the location of an emerging dragon, a bone dragon with no skin save that on its bat-like wings and with purple, stringy mane on the back of its neck. Spikes matching the claws on the dragon's hands and feet protruded from the knees and the head. Yellow eyes glowed brightly as the beast roared.

"Berserk Dragon (8/3500/0) has the ability to end this duel," Maya explained, "and you can do nothing to stop it."

Matt looked at the Neos Force and O – Oversoul in his hand and remembered forfeiting his Waboku. "I don't want to stop it," he replied. He dropped to the ground and tried to cover Bryan; if losing this duel would cause an energy rush that _at all_ resembled the one from when he defeated Julian, he just wanted to make sure Bryan suffered as little of it as possible. Dr. Apple had a similar thought when he encouraged Darius and Cary to run.

Maya could no longer contain her excitement. "Berserk Dragon (3500)! Attack him directly!" The bone dragon reared back, then launched a fireball straight toward Matt and Bryan. The holographic flames dissipated quickly, but the release of the shadows was much more prolonged and painful. Bryan/Matt 3200 – 3500 = 0: Maya 3600.

Maya stared into the sky as a small tear appeared in the dimensional continuum. Shadows spilled from the tear like when dry ice sublimates in water. The shadows surrounded Maya, and she felt her body begin to rise. As if soaring through the universe at high speeds, streams of green, white, and black lights shot past her as she drove straight toward a light, the opening to a higher plane of existence. She could already feel the power flowing into her. Her entire body felt aglow with the warm consciousness that occupied the Shadow Realm.

"Yes," she uttered as she reached forward, eager to make the trip even faster.

But wait! Her hand wasn't complete anymore. Her skin was fading, burning within the fiery light, and the bones began to dissipate. Her entire body faded in the light; she couldn't make it all the way to the end of the tunnel.

"Why?" she uttered…

----------

Dr. Apple was the only one standing out in the open to witness the events. The shadows swarmed the former dueling field, wildly ripping and tearing at everything nearby. Grass and sod whipped through the air. Dr. Apple was even hit in the leg with a pair of cracked glasses. He couldn't see Bryan and Matt, causing him to wonder if they would be able to survive the eruption of the shadows. He did, however, see a soft glow emitting a familiar energy.

When the gap in the air sealed over and the shadows disappeared, Maya was gone—faded completely into the shadows. Matt and Bryan were each in one piece, although the jacket on Matt's back was quite worse for wear. But he and Bryan were conscious, indicating they were relatively unharmed and safe from the shadows.

"That was unexpected," Dr. Apple said simply. It seemed like nothing could alter his neutral expression. "Perhaps she was right about the Shadow Realm being as a god. Yet she was human, incapable of touching the hand of god." Just as Matt was climbing to his feet, Dr. Apple suggested to him, "You should thank Ms. Moxley for granting her protection just now. I am sure she will be pleased to hear from you."

* * *

_Most of you probably predicted Maya's trump cards; she was, after all, the leading Duel Academy authority on god cards. I promise you I didn't realize how much like _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ that ending was, however, until after I wrote it and I verbally described it to someone else. I just thought it was a cool, unexpected way to end Maya's ambition. Did anyone see it coming?_

_Dr. Apple's a weird guy, isn't he? I won't go into great detail about him during these final chapters, nor will I answer all your questions about Matt. I have to leave something as a connective piece that ties all the story arcs together into one big plot, don't I? After all, it's the only thing I have completely mapped out. If you didn't read the first arc yet, "Ms. Moxley" is a reference to Leona Moxley, hostess of the Limitations Tournament Bryan and Matt won during the first arc. The last five chapters of that arc introduce her._

_When I start the third arc, I will always reintroduce people as if no one ever heard of them before. I won't give great, big, detailed accounts of first meetings because anyone _that_ interested can come back and read the other arcs. (I plan to rehash the earlier chapters to add descriptions of cards and card effects like I have during the recent chapters.) Unless I say otherwise in the next two chapters, go ahead and assume the third arc will be titled "For Love and the Game." I plan to introduce a slew of new characters and bring current characters more into the foreground (such as Darius and the professors)._

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
Everyone else....YamiRuss_


	19. The Graduation Duel

Chapter 19: The Graduation Duel

"It has been quite a school year," Dr. West understated to the other faculty during their weekly meeting. "We were fortunate that things didn't get any worse and that all students made a full recovery. We must extend extra gratitude for Ashley's efforts in the infirmary. I suspect that she is the reason our students didn't suffer any long-term effects."

"I've never been so glad for a semester to end," Dr. Kerr agreed. "I do not blame many of the students for refusing to return. I believe the final number came to twenty-three. The rest were either convinced by of their renewed safety by your words, or they are simply such eager students that they are unwilling to let two weeks of danger deter them from their studies."

"Or they have a real fetish for being involved in a real 'Shadow Realm' experience just like in the legends," Baker added.

"Twenty-three students of our 150-student body is understandable, especially considering the enormous security breach of having one of our own faculty members turn against the students," Dr. Apple commented. He took on the responsibility of covering Maya's classes when she disappeared.

Dr. Lankford was the pickiest on this subject. "The position requires a much more thorough screening. I hope I have your blessing in using my lineage to pull rank; I will be the one to review the applications for Maya's replacement." Baker—having been a police officer and fully understanding the chain of command—understood his zeal and accepted the request. Dr. Kerr did not openly express her displeasure with his arrogance because she knew it would only exacerbate the problem. Dr. Apple sincerely didn't even seem to notice Dr. Lankford was essentially insulting the others.

"That's fine," Dr. West said, hoping to move on without incident. "We will trust your judgment. For now, let us move on to discuss the graduation ceremony. I am proud to announce that even with a two-week delay in many of the courses, every one of our seniors is eligible for graduation."

"Valedictorian?" Dr. Kerr asked, already guessing the answer.

"Your assumption is correct. Dave Strickland achieved the highest grade point average and full marks on all his dueling practicals. I will inform him when I see him next that he has until Wednesday to decide who he would like to select as his opponent during the Graduation Duel. That will give any opponent two weeks to prepare."

----------

Dave had difficulty moving around lately. Monica finished with her own final exams the previous week and decided to skip town immediately following her graduation ceremony last Saturday. Because she was all done with school, she flew straight to Kazuki and attached herself to Dave's arm, hence he walked with a bit of a hunch. It took him all week to apologize for putting himself in danger like that, but Monica forgave him almost instantly; the important thing was that he was safe and healthy.

That didn't mean he was allowed to go anywhere on campus without her, though.

Dave took a short walk to the Red Dorm to find himself an opponent for the Graduation Duel. Andy, Justin, Erica, Yul, Haruki, Miyu… They were all incredible duelists, but they were familiar; Dave dueled them all many times before. And they weren't the ones who ended the Shadow Rituals plaguing the campus.

In his dorm room, Matt lay on his bed with Kas watching TV. Well, maybe "watching" isn't the most accurate word, if you know what I mean. They were still fully clothed, but they were much more interested in oral hygiene than television at the moment.

When there was a knock on the door, Matt dislodged and said, "Hold that thought… and that position. I'll be right back." He got up from the bed and opened the door. His hair was mussed, his shirt was tangled, and he wasn't wearing his glasses. "Dave?" He also noticed the red-haired blur attached to Dave's arm. "Either you've got one hell of a rash, or Monica is in town."

Dave smiled and introduced the freshman duelist to his girlfriend, explaining that Matt usually wears glasses. "He probably took them off when he and his girlfriend were 'studying.'" He even did the air quotes.

"Hi," Kas called after she finished straightening her hair. She was embarrassed, but she figured she'd push past it. She got up and walked over to talk to Monica. The two stepped into the room and sat down on the extra bed—the one with the extra cushions to make it look like a couch—and left Dave and Matt to have their discussion.

"Look at them go," Matt commented. Kas and Monica were already speaking at hyper speeds—that way enthusiastic women talk so that no man can interpret their words—and giggling loudly, followed by constant pointing toward the two guys and then whispering to one another. They were interesting to compare side by side. They were both fairly attractive women—not likely to be featured in magazine spreads, yet beautiful in their own rights. Monica seemed like every bit the nerd Dave was, but if she pulled her hair down and took off her glasses, she'd show the hot girl hiding underneath. Of course, Dave thought she was most beautiful first thing in the morning and without any makeup. Kasumi was an average girl in Japan, but the second she moved into a more American context, she became an exotic beauty. Monica's hair was bright red and Kasumi's was a darker auburn.

"I'm glad they're getting along," Dave said. "Monica will have someone to talk to in the stands during the graduation ceremony." Matt nodded, figuring with his usual awkwardness, he'd probably bore Monica if he were responsible for entertainment. He could imagine her not really appreciating the game of making fun of the names on the list of graduates.

"I want to duel you," Dave said bluntly.

"Me?" Matt sounded shocked. "What—now?"

"No. At the graduation ceremony." Dave explained that at Duel Academy graduations, the basic itinerary says the attendees hear from a commencement speaker, then the valedictorian duels the opponent of his choice, and finally the graduating seniors walk across the stage and get their fake diplomas—those pieces of paper that simply say, "Made you look! This is just for show. Your real diploma will be delivered later."

"You're the only duelist on the island who's worthy," Dave continued. "You were the one who halted the return of the shadows. In four successive duels, you defeated anywhere from one to three gods. You're the player to beat these days."

Matt put on a grin. "You think?" Dave assured him it was true. Matt smiled and said, "Well, dude; you've got yourself a duel."

"Good," Dave said. "I look forward to seeing the very best you've got."

----------

"Dude, this is awesome," Bryan declared excitedly. "The big showdown of the best senior duelist in school against the second-best freshman duelist!"

"Need I guess who's best?" Matt replied insincerely.

Justin said, "Seriously, this is a great draw to the graduation ceremony."

Andy agreed, but he saw a problem with it. "Both guys use one-turn-kill strategies. The duel is basically going to be a sudden death match to see who's luckier. Whoever sets up the strategy first is going to win."

Andy further pointed out, "Whoever goes first will have the advantage. Either Dave gets hold of his draw cards and starts going all the way through his deck before Matt even gets a turn, or Matt puts together that Catapult Turtle-Magical Scientist first-turn-kill he likes so much."

"That's an easy fix," Bryan said. "We'll just have them do a best-of-seven match. Dave can go first four times, and Matt can go first four times."

Dave was the one to point out, "That's _eight_ duels."

Getting defensive and a little ironic, Bryan replied, "Fine. You want eight duels? We'll do eight duels!"

Lucy patted him on the arm gently, the way you might try to calm a gorilla, and said, "Good, Bryan."

The overall reaction to Dave's choice was a mixed one. A lot of freshmen supported Matt because freshmen rarely got the opportunity to participate in the Graduation Duel. The upperclassmen were largely distressed by the choice because most of them still believed Matt to be merely a lucky freshman and believed _they _were, in fact, better duelists. There was a third group, however, who saw the duel only as a match-up between talented duelists that should make for a good show and produce some wild betting odds.

----------

The morning of the duel, Matt got up especially early. The anxiety of the duel made him extra antsy, and so he decided to run a third lap around the campus. As he donned red workout shorts and a blue T-shirt, he noticed the way Darius slept. He stopped wearing a shirt to bed for two reasons: The temperature was much higher this time of year, and he didn't want anything for Matt to sew to the sheets. He set all kinds of traps around the room to alert him to changes in his closet, bureau, and deck. One of Matt's previous pranks failed because he found the tape Darius set across the closet door, but he didn't notice the strand of hair Darius sealed lower on the door the same way Sean Connery once did as James Bond. It's okay, though, because Matt was willing to skip pranking Darius this morning; he was much more focused on his upcoming duel and the graduation ceremony for some of his closest friends.

The Guard Trio were up early, too. Showering, shaving, and writing derogatory messages on top of the graduation cap so they can be seen from the stands take time. Erica required a lot less shaving time, and she didn't need to be funny with her cap and gown; she made up for that saved time by spending the rest of the morning on her hair. Dave donned khaki pants, a green shirt, and a black tie; Justin donned black slacks, a blue shirt, and a red tie; Andy donned black slacks, a black shirt, and a white tie; and all three guys put on their blue gowns and yellow and white cords already.

"Which way do the tassels go again?" Andy asked as he tried on the cap. The yellow tassel dangled in front of his face, and each time he tried to move it to one side, it just swung back.

"It starts on the right side," Justin said. "After you walk across the stage, you switch it from the right side to the left side."

"I thought that was in high school. Doesn't it go the other way after college?"

"It's always right to left except when you get a master's degree," Justin explained. "And you don't really need to worry about that, Mr. Rookie Member of the Indianapolis Wizards."

Andy smiled humbly and replied, "It's not like I have a job as a contractor for Kaiba Corp."

"True, true," said Justin. They both turned to Dave and said, "Then again, neither of us compares to joining the prestigious international chapter of Duel Monsters One-Turn-Kill."

Dave made no attempt to be humble around these guys. "Well, some of us _deserve_ to be put on a pedestal. Please, don't feel the need to throw money and women at me. I'll settle for just money."

"You'd better." Monica stepped out of Dave's room, her hair in disarray, without makeup or glasses, and still wearing her pajamas. She rubbed her eyes and said, "You guys look nice."

"And you're pretty," said Dave, greeting his girlfriend with a kiss. "Did we wake you?"

She said with an inherent chuckle, "I was okay through you guys getting dressed and making fun of one another. It was the screaming at one another during a _Halo_ match that snapped me out of slow-wave sleep." Andy and Justin both pointed their fingers at Dave. Monica sighed. "Do I need to get ready now?"

"You've got some time," Dave assured her. "Do you want to see the duel ceremony, too, or do you just want to be there to see me walk across the stage and shake hands with Corbin?"

"I'd love to see you duel," she said with a smile.

After giving a smile back, Dave said, "Then yeah, you should get ready now. We're going to head out at nine to find our parents. The duel is scheduled for ten o'clock, then the commencement speech, and then we get to walk across the stage. The commencement speaker is a Duel Academy alumnus Dr. Lankford selected. It could be just as boring as every other speaker we've ever had."

Andy suggested, "Too bad we can't 'listen' to the commencement speaker, _then_ watch your duel. It might help the rest of us wake up to see something with a little action after some guy puts us to sleep."

That's the time Erica stepped out of her room, dressed and ready to go. She put on a sleeveless, V-neck sundress and white sandals; the white cotton dress really brought out her dark skin. She carried her blue graduation gown on a coat hanger, planning to put it on just before the senior processional actually began.

"Meow," Andy purred playfully. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," Erica replied. "You guys look nice, too. Girly, but nice. I guess this is the one time you guys can get away with wearing a gown in public."

"Hey," Andy retorted defensively. "I can find other times to wear a gown in public. Halloween?"

"Fraternity hazings," Justin suggested.

"Toga parties," Dave chimed in.

"Shakespearean theater," Andy threw in.

"Really, any Greek play," Justin continued.

Erica shut them up with a firm, "I got it. You guys like to wear dresses." Changing the subject, and never _ever_ wanting to return to it, she said, "Bryan and Lucy are going to join Matt this morning and meet up with us at the Hibiki Center. Are you coming with us, Monica?"

"I'm just going to get dressed," she affirmed. "I promise not to take long."

"Do you want some hair help?" Erica offered. Monica admitted she'd like that, and so they went back to Dave's room to get Monica ready.

Dave hollered to Erica, "Hey! Does that mean two of my roommates are rooting against me in the Graduation Duel?"

"Not everyone is in love with you," Erica hollered back.

Knowing how heavily Dave was favored in this duel, Justin commented to him, "I guess you'll have to settle for _almost_ everyone."

----------

The Hibiki convocation center was standing room only. Matt needed Bryan to walk in front of him just to push people out of the way so he could get to the dueling platform. He and Dave decided to duel on the old-fashioned duel arena rather than using Duel Disks. It would give the duel a more traditional feel and seemed like a much more dramatic choice for a final duel of the year. Dr. West was fairly convinced Matt just wanted to be as inconvenient as possible, and retracting the duel arena into the stage floor was much more time-consuming than collecting Duel Disk projectors.

"Go get 'im, bro," Bryan said as he and Matt performed one of their lame, exclusive handshakes. "And just remember, if it weren't for you, I'd be the one dueling Dave."

"Thanks for the pep talk."

Lucy just offered Matt a heartfelt pat on the shoulder with a tiny squeeze. "Good luck, god slayer."

Kas was waiting for Matt by the blue platform. She wore a white blouse under a maroon sweater and a long, maroon skirt. "How are feeling?" she asked.

"Even better now that I get to see you before I duel," he said.

She said, "I don't need to wish you luck, so just take this because I want you to have it," and kissed him. A few "ooo"s floated toward them from the stands.

"I like presents like that," he replied. He took a breath and said, "I've stayed strong against a number of gods already. What's one more, right?"

Kasumi put on an awkward smile and rubbed Matt's arm. "Go get 'im, Tiger."

Kas was rather slow to get back to her seat with Bryan and Monica. Cary was observant enough to see why. She leaned closer to keep it quiet, just in case Kas was shy about her insecurities.

"He looks pretty cute when he dresses up, doesn't he? Even if he is a bit slovenly…" Matt wore black slacks with a matching suit jacket over a white shirt with vertical blue stripes. Cary's latter comment referred to the fact that Matt didn't wear a tie, and he didn't, in fact, even do the top two buttons on his shirt. Kas just nodded in reply.

"You're jealous of him, aren't you?"

"Don't be silly."

"I didn't think I was. I thought I was be being blunt and calling you out on the fact that you are jealous of the fact that your boyfriend is rapidly becoming the top duelist in the school. Even if he doesn't do it today, he will tomorrow when Dave is no longer a student."

Kas scoffed a few times, trying to deny the assertion, but she couldn't. "How can I _not_ be jealous? Everything just seems to be going his way."

Cary nodded. "Yeah. Do you think you can repeat that next time you get to talk to your mother and Matt has to avoid going home?" She did admit, though, that Matt seemed pretty lucky since arriving at Duel Academy, but maintained he was hardly the luckiest guy on campus. "Dr. Apple said it was a fluke of the Shadow Realm that Matt wasn't killed during Maya's plot. It's partly that he's really strong and partly because the magic weakened because his opponents absorbed more of the damage."

"And I was too weak even to come _near _the Shadow Realm," Kas mumbled. "I passed out yards away."

Cary put her arm around her friend and gave her a little squeeze. "Don't worry about it. Everyone was affected differently, and it's over now. Let's just enjoy watching Matt strut his stuff against Dave. I'm jealous, too, and I love my cousin, but I'm still pulling for the upset here."

Kas moaned again, more light-heartedly this time. "I think losing to Dave might help bring Matt's ego down a few notches."

"You think _that_ will shrink his ego?" Cary asked incredulously. She smiled the way you smile at a crazy person to keep her calm. "That's so cute of you to think that."

Matt stepped onto the platform on one end while Dave stepped up on the other. "Having second thoughts?" Dave asked.

"No way," he answered. "I'm looking forward to this."

"That's why I picked you," Dave said. "Now give me all you've got."

Dr. Lankford stepped in between the stage and the camera crews, as was his custom before major Academy duels. "Welcome students, faculty, and visitors to the Duel Academy Graduation Match. Here we showcase our most outstanding senior, one who has received numerous honors including International Undergraduate Champion and a four-year contract with the international chapter of Team One-Turn Kill. It is my pleasure to introduce David 'The Forbidden One' Strickland!"

The crowd literally took three minutes to shut up before Dr. Lankford could continue the introduction.

"Sounds like you have a fan or two in the audience," Matt said to Dave through the intercom.

Dr. Lankford announced, "Dave hand selected his opponent for today based on his dueling merits. A freshman who has broken more records than anyone in the Academy's history of first-year students, he was victorious at the Gathas Limitations Tournament, and has an added reputation for partying whenever he's not studying or dueling... apparently." As an aside, he asked Dr. West, "Who wrote this intro?" Back to the audience, he announced, "I introduce to you... _ugh_... 'Matt Man' Luther."

There was another massive round of applause at this point.

"How much did you pay them to pretend to like you?" Dave joked.

"Two dozen cupcakes and a lozenge."

Dave chuckled. "I knew you were loaded."

Matt slurred his words as he mockingly replied, "Yeah, but not the rish kind uv loaded..."

Dr. Lankford was in charge of organizing the duel. He explained to the audience that because each duelist was a current or former member of Team OTK who specializes in one-turn-kill strategies, they would play a best-of-seven match. He didn't say it out loud, but he rejected Bryan's suggestion of eight duels and bemoaned Bryan's mathematical ability. "The first duelist to win four duels wins the match."

When the duel schedule was set, Dave and Matt played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to determine fairly who should take the first turn in the first duel. Matt played _scissors_, but Dave pulled the trump by playing _rock_. That means Dave got to begin the duels, and he was certain he could take an early lead over Matt.

"Are you sure you can handle me? If you really think you're better, I'm not going to explain all my card effects to you."

"Please!" Matt scoffed awkwardly. "The idea of you being better than I is as ridiculous as a potato salad pizza. Just play the game."

Dave smiled. "I'll start by playing Pot of Greed." A smiling, green pot appeared on the field and two cards popped out of Dave's deck.

"I know that one!" Matt mocked excitedly. "That lets you decide what cards I can and can't play, thus guaranteeing you a win."

"That's exactly right," Dave replied sardonically. "Now I'll play Magical Mallet." A red, unbalanced mallet with wings on either side of the head appeared. It slammed onto a holographic deck, thus letting Dave shuffle any number of cards from his hand into his deck and redraw that same number. "Now I'll set three cards and a monster in defense mode. Then I'll play Dark Hole." Suddenly a small rupture appeared in the center of the field; the energy began to swirl, violently dragging in the monsters on the field. Dave's monster was an orange-furred critter with three yellow eyes and green arms and legs.

"Big deal," Matt said. "I have no monsters on the field."

"I don't care about that." The field showed a tombstone with the epitaph "Sangan." A single card lay over the grave, and the picture on the card showed Exodia the Forbidden One, the same card Dave just pulled from his deck. "My turn is over."

"Whew," Matt said. "For a moment, I thought you'd win before I even got to move."

"Don't be so sure I won't," Dave replied. "I'll activate Hand Destruction." A holographic ninja with a round, yellow head appeared on the field and slashed through both players' hands. "I'll chain Appropriate to that."

"Hand Destruction says we discard two cards and draw two new ones," Matt recalled, "and Appropriate lets you draw two extra cards when I draw outside the Draw Phase. And with the order of resolution…" He chuckled. "Did it work?"

Dave just smiled back. "What do you know? Just as you suspected, I now hold all five pieces of Exodia." He placed all five cards on the monster plates, and the image of the Spellbinding Circle appeared on the field. One at a time, each of the points shattered, slowly revealing a golden-colored limb the size of a canned ham and wrapped in bronze chains. The final piece broke away to show a massive torso that connected all four limbs to an Egyptian headdress, which covered a blue, mummified face of an ancient deity with a menacing sneer. When the being was whole, Exodia ripped away the chains and proceeded to rain fire down on Matt's side of the field, blanketing him with flames and ending the duel instantaneously.

"Nice," Matt said during the crowd's explosion of noise. "I expect that's not the only time you'll do that today."

"For my sake, I hope not," Dave said.

A brief round of applause with a few "boos" thrown in was quickly quelled when Dr. Lankford listed Dave as the winner of Round One and encouraged the start of Round Two. This time, Matt got to take the first turn.

"I'll summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (4/+1900/1000)." Matt's field showed a magician wearing plated magician's robes, resembling red armor covering his blue skin. He wore a crimson cape on his back, he carried a short sword in one hand and a shield in the other, and his armor was studded with spell counters. "I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Dave drew his card. "I've got a bigger monster. Chainsaw Insect (4/2400/0) is much stronger than Breaker (1900)."

"Yet, you're not going to attack," Matt assumed. To do so would let Matt draw but not Dave, and giving the opponent more cards doesn't help Dave summon Exodia.

Instead of answer, Dave simply said, "I'll activate Mirage of Nightmare." Three mummified beings surrounded Dave. "I'll set three cards and end my turn."

"Three cards," Matt noted. "You planning a raid?"

"Something like that." The mummies shrieked in Dave's face to let him draw four cards. "I'll activate two copies of Good Goblin Housekeeping, then I'll chain Emergency Provisions." Dave's two trap cards were replaced by a can of food and a bottle of water, and the mummies turned into a bag of chips that should _never _be opened, giving Dave 1000 LP each; two green-skinned goblins appeared at holographic desks, each writing in books. Because Emergency Provisions put both trap cards in the Graveyard without negating their effects, Dave got to draw six cards as long as he put two from his hand back in the deck.

"Here we go again," Dave told him. He placed five cards from his hand on the Duel Disk. The image of the Spellbinding Circle appeared on the field again, and slowly each piece broke to reveal a piece of Exodia.

"This is a really long presentation," Matt commented. "I mean, seriously; we could do a whole other duel by the time Exodia finally hits me with that divine fire rain thing." Finally, the fire holographic—completely identical to Exodia's previous attack against Matt—blanketed Matt's field and ended the duel. Matt 8000: Dave 8000 + 3000 = 11,000.

"Good game," Matt said.

"Thanks. It seems Lady Luck has a crush on me today. You're already pretty far in the hole."

"Luckily I brought a ladder," Matt replied. "This isn't over yet."

"I only need two more wins, and it's my turn to begin again," Dave said. "I'll start by playing Magical Mallet." The large, red mallet appeared on the field again and struck Dave's deck; he shuffled three cards back into his deck to draw three more. "To finish, I'll place two cards face down and a monster in defense."

"What do you know," Matt commented sardonically. "I guess even you can't win on the first turn every time. Still, I bet those facedown cards are supposed to help you get Exodia."

"You might be right," Dave chuckled.

"Tough luck. You finally gave me a chance to try one of _my _one-turn strategies. I'll start with my own Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two." An angelic woman, adorned in a white toga with a halo hovering over her head, offered Matt three cards and took away two others. After Matt discarded two of his cards, a tornado touched down on the field and forced Dave's facedown traps back into his hand. "Giant Trunade ought to clear the field for me."

"Alright," Dave said. "If you think it will help…"

"Don't try your psychological stuff on me," Matt countered. "I don't fall for that bluff stuff… especially not when I have a KO ready to go. I'll summon Cyber-Stein (4/700/500) to the field." A bulky, makeshift person appeared on Matt's field. Its blue skin was covered by a purple cloth tied around its chest and loose, green pants around the lower torso. One hand was attached by a metal plate armed with spikes, but the second arm had a metal cannon in place of a hand; similarly, the lower jaw was a piece of metal molded to resembled a lower jaw. "Frankenstein's monster here has a great special ability," Matt continued. "At the cost of 5000 Life Points, I can Special Summon any Fusion monster from my deck." A three-headed, serpentine dragon made entirely of fused metal emerged onto Matt's field. The wingspan gave the illusion the dragon could fly, and each head bore markings to indicate power level. "Here's Cyber End Dragon (10/4000/2800)."

"Nice move," Dave said. "It's expensive in terms of Life Points, but that's a very effective way to summon your biggest monster early. You think it'll matter?"

"I do. You see, Cyber End Dragon (4000) gets to inflict piercing damage on you when he destroys a monster. And to make sure it works, I'll equip my monster with Megamorph." An obsidian tablet appeared on the breast of Matt's dragon, causing it to double in size. "With this, my Cyber End Dragon (+8000) gets twice the attack points because you have more LP than I do.

"Now, let's see what that facedown guy is." The three heads of Matt's dragon generated energy, finally releasing it toward the other beams. The three beams combined at the focal point and became one powerful beam as they collided with Dave's Sangan (3/1000/600). The image of the critter's tombstone appeared once again, but this time the Left Leg of the Forbidden One lay over the grave. "It seems you already have the head in your hand," Matt noted. "That means you have at least three Exodia parts already. Very good, but not good enough. Cyber-Stein (700) still gets to attack you directly, as well." The Franken-monster clumsily aimed its arm cannon at Dave, struggling to hold it in place as it cycled enough energy to blast Dave. "I do believe that's the duel." Matt 8000 – 5000 = 3000: Dave 8000 – 7400 – 700 = 0.

The crowd was silent for a moment, almost stunned that Matt managed to beat Dave for a hand. Then the freshmen in the room began cheering loudly, many of them proud that their vicarious representative wasn't going to lose to the ranking senior without a fight. The unstoppable Dave was now beaten by a freshman with hardly a year's dueling experience. This planted in everyone a seed that said there is no such thing as an unbeatable opponent.

"That was skillfully done," Dave admitted.

Matt nodded in agreement. "Now we've got us a match."

* * *

_That was fun. I know this is a shameless near-replication of the GX anime's Season One closer, but it seems like a fun tradition for Duel Academy to adopt, so I might use it again to end future Duel Academy curricula. As far as having four more duels to present in the next chapter... well, that would have made this one way too long. The next chapter will end the graduation ceremony and wind up the school year for everyone. That's when I'll tie up all the loose social ends and get ready for the next story arc._

_If anyone still reading this wants to submit an OC to replace Maya in the Yellow Dorm, I can let you folks take priority. Anyone still reading deserves to have characters with more prominent positions. Just send basic info for now and if I need more, I'll contact you.  
_

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
Everyone else so far....YamiRuss_


	20. NTK

Chapter 20: NTK

The annual Graduation Duel was a little different this year: a match duel. Having agreed to a best-of-seven series, the graduating valedictorian David Strickland led his challenger Matthew Luther to duels to one.

"You think you'll be able to catch up?" asked Dave.

Matt scoffed humorously. "Dude, don't be surprised if I catch up with _this hand_. It's my turn to start, remember?" He drew his opening hand and got things started. "I'm going to start with Card Destruction, that pesky spell that makes us discard our hands to the Graveyard and draw new cards. See, I'm betting you already have at least one piece of Exodia because that always seems to be the case."

"I did," Dave assured his opponent as he discarded. "I had one, but don't think I can't use it just because it's in the Graveyard."

"I'm not _that_ dense. I'll play Future Fusion." A time warp appeared on the field—a green and white mass of swirling energy, preparing to call forth one of Matt's fusion monsters. "I'll send from my deck three Cyber Dragons, two Cyber Dragon Zweis, two Cyber Valleys, Cyber Ouroboros, Nitro Synchron, Turbo Rocket, and Heavy Mech Support Platform to summon Chimeratech Overdragon. Of course, it's not an instant fusion, so while I wait, I'll summon Defender, the Magical Knight (4/1600/2000)." A magician clad in blue, heavy armor, wielding a small broadsword in one hand and an enormous scutum shield in the other appeared on Matt's field. "That will end my turn."

"I'm surprised you'll let me have a turn," Dave commented. "Awfully risky when you know I carry Exodia, don't you think?"

"Maybe."

Dave was surprised Matt had nothing else to say; maybe that means he was bluffing about his strategy. "I'll play Graceful Charity." A robed, female angel with a halo overhead appeared on the field and granted Dave three cards in one hand, demanding two in return. "I'll set three cards and set a monster in defense mode."

"That's it?" Matt asked. "I thought it would be worse than that."

Dave just shrugged. "Sometimes your opening hand is a great one, sometimes you have to work through it. Like this one, for instance; I'll play two copies of Reckless Greed." Two boxes of treasure appeared on the field. As each one opened to reveal gold and jewels inside, a trap door opened beneath each, dropping the treasure out of sight. Dave still wasn't giving Matt any help for this duel, but Matt knew what Reckless Greed did: Dave got to draw two cards per Reckless Greed, and he was forced to skip the next two Draw Phases.

"Your drawing power doesn't scare me," Matt replied firmly. "I'll activate Overload Fusion; I get to remove all the Cyber Dragons and machines in my Graveyard from play to summon Chimeratech Overdragon (9/+8000/+8000). But first things first." When the Graveyard exploded, fusing together Matt's machines, a piece of Cyber Ouroboros offered Matt the chance to draw a new card if he discarded one from his hand. Then the smoke cleared from the Graveyard and revealed the fruits of the overload. The serpentine machine resembled Matt's other cyber dragons, but with ten, thinner heads and a wide base with an opening for each neck. The big blue Defender and the green time warp were destroyed as the Overdragon snapped and clawed its way to the field. "My new machine gets 800 points per fusion material, but I'm going to double that by playing Megamorph." An obsidian tablet appeared on the belly of Matt's serpentine machine.

"Interesting choice," said Dave.

Matt smirked. "You're referring to the fact that Megamorph doesn't do anything when our LP are equal, aren't you? Well, they won't be when I play Premature Burial." An aura of red energy swept across the field, and a giant, mechanical turtle poked its head from under the ground. As it climbed onto the field, the turtle was revealed to have a green shell and black, mechanical skin. A long aircraft catapult—consisting of a track above a large piston—rested on the turtle's back. "Premature Burial lowers my LP, therefore doubling Chimeratech Overdragon's (+16,000) attack power, and it revives my Catapult Turtle. Now, I don't really care what your plan was to retrieve that piece of Exodia from your Graveyard because when Catapult Turtle launches my Overdragon, half my machine's AP come out of your LP." Matt's machine serpent attached itself to the piston on the catapult track, and steam released the piston, thus firing the serpent at high speeds. It bypassed Dave's field and collided with the platform on which Dave stood during the duel. Matt 8000 – 800 = 7200: Dave 8000 – 8000 = 0.

"Not bad," Dave admitted. "That brings us to two wins each. Only two left before I win."

"You think you can do it? Exodia isn't unstoppable."

"I'll do it," Dave asserted confidently. "It's my turn to start." He and Matt drew their opening hands. A green pot with a wide smile that revealed ugly teeth appeared on the field. "I'll start with Pot of Greed." Dave drew two more cards from his deck. A green creature wearing decadent clothing and many jeweled rings appeared when the green pot disappeared, allowing Dave to draw another card by giving Matt 1000 LP. "Next up is Upstart Goblin… and I'll follow that with Magical Mallet." A red, unbalanced mallet with wings on either side of the head appeared. It slammed onto a holographic deck, thus letting Dave shuffle any number of cards from his hand into his deck and redraw that same number. "I'll end with a facedown monster and two cards face down." Matt 8000 + 1000 = 9000: Dave 8000.

"Lovely," Matt commented dryly. "How do you like this move? I'll play One for One and discard Dark Magician to summon Magical Scientist (1/300/300) from my deck." The purple-clothed body of the Dark Magician lay on the field, and a bright light shone from his back as a smaller monster appeared from the remains of the fallen magician: a white-haired man wearing a lab coat and a heavy gold necklace, giving off an eerie purple aura, and hunching at the shoulders like Igor. "I'll use his effect to summon Dark Flare Knight (6/2200/800) to the field." The Magical Scientist pulled a remote control from his pocket and pressed a sequence of buttons. A capsule filled with green liquid appeared from the ground; the liquid drained and the capsule opened, gracing the field with a powerful-looking warrior. He wore black and red armor, bearing a powerful shield and a fiery sword.

"His effect won't help much," Dave pointed out.

"What'd I say about that psych-out stuff? My next move is to Tribute Magical Scientist to summon Dark Magician Girl (6/+2300/1700)." Matt's knight was joined by a female magician clad in a blue costume well-cited for its short, pink skirt and low-cut top. She gained 300 points because Dark Magician Girl's effect gives her additional strength for every Dark Magician in the grave. "Next I'll play Sage's Stone to summon my second Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)." Dark Magician Girl held up a shining gem, and by using its power to cast a spell, she brought to the field one reputed as the "ultimate wizard," standing taller than Matt's other monsters, wearing purple robes, and carrying a powerful staff. "This should make a dent. I'll get Dark Flare Knight (2200) to attack first." His armed knight slashed his fiery sword straight through Dave's Witch of the Black Forest (4/1100/1200). As she fell into the Graveyard, her tombstone appeared on the field, with a chiseled ankh as an epitaph and the Right Leg of the Forbidden One resting against it.

"I'll take that card," Dave said regarding the card leaning against his Black Witch's grave. Dave still wasn't telling Matt any effects because he wanted Matt to _earn_ everything in this match.

"That's not all you'll take," Matt informed him. "Dark Magician (2500) and Dark Magician Girl (2300) will also force you to take 4800 points of damage." The Dark Magician spun his staff for momentum, ending with a powerful ball of energy emerging from the end, and Dark Magician Girl held her scepter against Dark Magician's staff for a moment to borrow energy, then she whipped her scepter forward, tossing out an embellished blast of her own magic energy. At the end of the turn, the Dark Flare Knight returned to the fusion deck. Matt 9000 – 1000 = 8000: Dave 8000 – 2500 – 2300 = 3200.

"That was a good effort," Dave said when he drew his card. "I'll play Jar of Greed and Reckless Greed." First a red jar with a sleek grin and prominent nose on its face, and lots of jewelry inside, appeared on the field. It was quickly followed by a box of treasure resting over a trap door; as soon as the box opened, so did the trap door, dropping the treasure out of sight. When the jar disappeared, the oversized Spellbinding Circle took its place. One at a time, each of the points of the Circle shattered, slowly revealing a golden-colored limb the size of a canned ham and wrapped in bronze chains. The final piece broke away to show a massive torso that connected all four limbs to an Egyptian headdress, which covered a blue, mummified face of an ancient deity with a menacing sneer. When the being was whole, Exodia ripped away the chains and proceeded to rain fire down on Matt's side of the field, blanketing him and his Dark Magicians with flames and ending the duel.

"Aw, nutbunnies," Matt moaned. "I was already so close."

"We're not playing Horseshoes," Dave pointed out.

Matt laughed and replied sarcastically, "Oh, snap!" He shuffled his cards back together and added, "You still need to win another duel, which means I've still got time to beat you. Just watch." He drew his opening hand and put on a confident smile. "I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Dave laughed. "No monsters, huh? It seems to me like someone wants to be able to Special Summon a Cyber Dragon next turn."

Matt was just barely able to hold his Poker face. "Maybe."

"Good luck with that. I'll play Graceful Charity." An angelic woman adorned in a white toga with a halo hovering over her head offered Dave three cards in exchange for two others. "I'll also set two cards and end my turn."

"Ooo, bold move from the Forbidden Dave," Matt joked. When he drew, he let go of his Poker face. "Oh, nice. I don't need you to have a monster anymore. By playing Power Bond, I can fuse the two Cyber Dragons in my hand." Two metallic serpents appeared on Matt's field, and they began fusing as through welding. When the sparks stopped flying, Matt's fused serpent had two heads—one with a yellow gem on the forehead and one with blue markings around the skull, and it was twice as strong as usual.

"The Cyber Twin Dragon (8/+5600/2100)," Dave noted calmly. "Nice choice. Too bad it won't work." He activated his facedown Threatening Roar; a pulse wave from his field accompanied an animalistic war cry. The effect was to prevent Matt's monster from doing battle.

"Sorry, dude," Matt replied. A portion of a castle bailey appeared, and a regal man overlooking the courtyard gave a commanding proclamation. "Royal Decree prevents any traps from activating, which means Threatening Roar does nothing to me. You got anything else?"

"I do." Dave activated his Quick-Play spell Scapegoat to summon four Sheep Tokens (1/0/0) to his field in defense mode; four cartoonish rams bounded onto his field and settled in place, seemingly unaware of their impending sacrifice.

Matt looked nervous for a moment. "Oh. That's a good move." He looked at the field for a moment, then said, "I've got a better one." Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the castle bailey, destroying it and removing it from the field. Then all four rams switched to attack mode. "Mystical Space Typhoon lets me activate Traps again, and Final Attack Orders will make the field basically the same as direct attacks." His eyes lit up. "That's right! Cyber Twin Dragon (5600) gets to attack twice! But who do I target? Inky, Pinky, Blinky, or Dot?" He shrugged. "Whatever. Just take 'em down." One head of Matt's metallic dragon clamped its jaws down on the blue Sheep Token (0), and the second rent asunder the red Token. Matt 8000: Dave 8000 – 5600 – 5600 = 0.

"That ties it up," Matt pointed out excitedly. Now the match stood at 3-3.

Dr. Lankford announced at this point they would take a short break. The duelists could take just ten minutes to collect their thoughts and alter their decks if they so desired, and the audience could take a bathroom break, which many of them would be glad to have taken when the commencement speech began.

Matt and Dave met in front of the stage and shook hands. "This is intense," Matt said. "I'm glad we only have one more duel."

"So am I," Dave replied. "A regulation match consists of three duels. We could argue that we each won a match already. This last duel is just the tie-breaker."

"True. Then I can go back to pulling pranks on my friends."

Dave chuckled. "How's your roommate taking the abuse, by the way?"

"He's a rock," said Matt. "I set up one last prank, but if _that_ doesn't get him, I might pick someone else to target next year."

"Is this one your most elaborate plot yet?"

Matt shook his head. "No. He expects the big stuff. I went back to the basics this time—a rubber snake in the bed."

"Isn't that kind of obvious under the blankets?"

"The comforter is pretty thick and hides it really well. I think the classics will make a good 'last hurrah.'"

Dave looked around at the graduating seniors, all of whom were labeled the best of Duel Academy. Dave was just glad to know that even without Haruki, Miyu, Justin, Andy, and Erica around, there would be someone worthy of claiming the top rank of the school.

"Speaking of 'last hurrahs'… Once I leave, you'll be the best duelist at the school. I'm recommending Dr. West hire you as his new assistant; Cary filled out the application for you, so you know it was eloquently written. It'll be a tough and time-consuming job, but you'll earn some extra money, get a lot of exposure to high-ranking duelists and a variety of cards. And I believe you're the best man for the job."

Matt made a face. "What? Are we having a moment?"

Dave scoffed. "At least I'm not asking for one of those lame handshakes you and Bryan do."

"First of all, how can a handshake be lame if a person with a lame arm can't do a handshake?" Look it up in the dictionary. "But why should I wait until you leave to be the best? I can take that title from you right here and now."

Dave just smiled. "Bring it on."

When the intermission ended, the two duelists stepped back onto the platforms and waited until the crowd was mostly settled back into their seats. The anticipation was palpable even to someone with central nervous system dysfunction. Who would win between these two dueling giants? To keep things completely fair, the guys threw one more round of Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who would take the first turn in the tie-breaker. Dave tried _paper_ this time, but Matt held strong with _scissors_ and earned the right to start the final duel of the year. The two guys drew their cards and instantly formulated their strategies.

"Here it comes, Dave," Matt said with a smile. "I got the perfect opening hand."

Dave just stood silently with a smile barely peeking on his face.

"I'll start by playing Spell Economics." His field showed a brown book with an eyeball at the top and multiple currency symbols embedded in the cover. "Then I'll summon Shadowpriestess of Ohm (4/1700/1600)." He was joined by a pale woman wearing blue and black robes and a large black headdress. "Now I'll play Magical Dimension to Tribute my Shadowpriestess for Dark Magician of Chaos." A sarcophagus entombed the Shadowpriestess of Ohm, but it opened to reveal a magician wearing tight, black leather, kept tight by numerous straps and buckles. The magician's hate he wore was black with lavender trim to cover his long, black hair. An upgraded form of Dark Magician, this one also carried a long staff with a lavender head and a blue gem.

Dave taunted, "I'm not scared yet."

"You should be," Matt replied, getting more and more excited. "I'll also play Monster Reborn to pull Shadowpriestess of Ohm (1700) back from the Graveyard." An ankh appeared on the field and opened a path from the Graveyard, allowing Matt's woman magician to return to the field. "Now she can use her effect to take my Dark Magician of Chaos off the field to inflict 800 points of damage to you." The Shadowpriestess absorbed the Dark Magician of Chaos as energy and used it to cast a spell at Dave. "When Dark Magician leaves the field, he gets removed from play. Now I can play Dimension Fusion to bring him back without paying any LP." The book of Spell Economics opened when a colorful swirl of energy connecting to the different dimension pulled Dark Magician back to the field. He immediately hit the ground with his staff, opening up the Graveyard to grant Matt a free spell. "When Dark Magician is summoned, I get to return a spell to my hand, and I choose Dimension Fusion." He chortled at his cleverness. "Lather, rinse, repeat…" The process repeated itself, with Shadowpriestess inflicting damage, Dimension Fusion bringing Dark Magician back, who in turn brought Dimension Fusion back.

Dr. Lankford stepped up before the duel officially ended and announced, "It looks like Matt Luther has played another one-turn victory. It seems our underdog freshman has pulled an upset over Forbidden Dave."

Dave caught Dr. Lankford's attention and offered, "How about we call it a draw?"

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

Dave showed Dr. Lankford the opening hand he drew. He held five cards—four yellow and one orange—and every one of them included the name "the Forbidden One" across the top.

"Are you kidding me?" Matt cried incredulously. "You won that duel on the opening draw? I thought _my_ opening hand was pure luck! How am I supposed to compete with a _no-turn-kill_?"

"We'll call it a tie," Dave said.

But Dr. Lankford was much more by-the-book. Any player whose hand contains the five cards of Exodia automatically wins the duel; even though Dave didn't reveal his hand until the last minute, he met the requirements for an automatic victory the instant before the duel even began. Officially, that rule ended the duel with Dave as the winner. The image of the Spellbinding Circle appeared on the field once more. Each piece broke away to reveal the body of Exodia. Exodia ripped away the chains that bind his individual limbs and proceeded to rain fire down on Matt's side of the field, blanketing him with flames and ending the duel before Shadowpriestess of Ohm could cast another spell.

Matt took a step back, symbolic of the fact that he lost. He was good, but he missed his opportunity to reach the top already. Maybe next year…

"I'm proud of you, Matt," Dave said at the final handshake. "Not everyone can put together a first-turn-kill during a high-stakes game."

"To be fair, it was a lot of luck."

"True," Dave admitted, "but you're better off lucky than good. You'd be surprised how often you lose to some rookie just because he got lucky. Luck trumps skill in the long run, and you make have the longest lucky streak I've ever seen. The school is in good hands with you around."

"Thanks. And the worlds of professional dueling better look out with you around."

----------

The commencement speaker wasn't as boring as all the students expected, and the ceremony was over rather quickly; the senior class only had forty-eight students to graduate. Matt and Bryan mocked a few names despite requests to "shut up and don't be mean." Bryan's defense was that names like these "cry out" for abuse:

"Deborah Jean Gladys has _three_ names that make her sound like a seventy-year-old woman!"

"Isn't Fleur Jade a dim sum restaurant in town?"

"I'm pretty sure Alexia is the word for a neurological inability to read due to brain damage."

The ceremony closed when the last students walked across the stage and Dr. West announced them all Duel Academy alumni! But it wasn't the end of the year just yet. Although many people caught flights home soon after the ceremony, the majority were leaving in the early morning. And when everyone is on campus with no morning commitments and no need to study, a graduation party is bound to happen, open to all who set foot on campus. An especially popular spot was the Kazuki firehouse—a wide open building on the edge of town. The party was catered by a local rib shack and music was provided by a local band called "Jaywalker and the Pedestrians."

A bigger party, however, can't quell the competitive spirit; it wasn't long before Andy set up a few rounds of Poker with a bunch of other students, many who were different from Andy's normal crowd. Pocket aces and with another in the flop, Andy checked. Joel stared at Andy's nervous grin and decided to check as well; Leon, Jeri, Dave, and Mitch all checked, too. The turn card was a four, giving someone a possible straight. For another round, everyone checked. The river card was a three to match the three in the flop. Andy checked and successfully convinced everyone else that he had nothing except the six pair in the community.

"I think someone's finally going to beat Andy," Joel said as he pushed all his chips to the center of the table. "All-in."

"Too rich for this hand," Leon said. Jeri folded with a huff.

Dave looked to Mitch. "Any chance you got that straight?"

"What do you think?" With a smile, Mitch flipped over his cards. "Ace, two, three, four, eight."

"Too bad," Dave said. "I fold, too. It's up to you, Andy."

Andy looked at his pocket again, then pretended to wait and think about what the odds were Joel had a better hand than a full house. The waiting was just for show to set up future bluffs. He finally announced, "I'll call. What have you?"

"Three fours," Joel announced.

"Good hand," Andy admitted. "Not quite the same as a full house…" He flipped over his pocket aces.

"Oh! And Joel leaves the game early," Leon laughed.

Dr. Lankford stepped up to the table. He hadn't been at the party long, and he didn't plan to stay long. But it was hard for someone with his gaming spirit to ignore a table full of students playing card games.

"Gambling is a violation of school rules," he pointed out.

Andy motioned to the table and said, "We're not gambling. We are very literally playing for chips."

Mitch opened a bag and consumed one of his Doritos. "I'm losing because I can't help eating mine."

"Yeah, _that's_ why you're losing," Andy replied sarcastically.

Dr. Lankford watched for another moment, watching Andy collect his chips, then he just walked away with a scoff. Mitch commented that Dr. Lankford was always unsociable and didn't care about the students at all.

Leon huffed and asked, "Has he ever even helped a student before?"

Andy smiled and took one last look at Dr. Lankford before he stepped out of the firehouse and left the party. "Yeah. He's a big help."

Dave smiled at Andy's words, then noticed Monica point across the room in the direction of Yul Tan, who was just entering the party with Darius and a few other friends. Dave stood from the table and said, "Here, Joel. Take my chips and play for me. I need to excuse myself."

Dave joined with Monica as she closed in on Yul. She had a big smile on her face and stars in her eyes. She couldn't resist giving Yul a hug big enough to knock him off his feet.

"Monica," he remembered from when he met her before.

"Thank you so much," she told him, still squeezing him tightly. She felt like she would never be able to thank Yul for saving Dave the way he did. "Dave always told me you were the only duelist who could match him."

"That's an exaggeration," Yul replied humbly, "but I am also glad I could be strong when I was needed. I promised you I would."

Monica gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "You kept your promise, too."

"I, too, will always owe you quite a debt," Dave added. "If there's ever anything you need or anything I can do to help you out, you contact me. We will always keep in touch."

Yul shook Dave's hand and agreed to his proposition. "I will always keep you in mind, and you may always count on me."

When Monica finally released Yul, Cary grabbed her by the hand. "Sorry to butt in, but Monica is wanted on the dance floor."

She pulled Monica away from Dave and Yul, almost bumping into Dr. Kerr and her husband. Larry Kerr was a burly man with a friendly smile and a Dallas star tattooed on his shoulder. He spent much of the night talking with Roger Baker and a few other professors about sports and hypothetical ways to make dueling even more visually exciting. As soon as she noticed Sasha's presence, Erica excused herself from the dance floor so she could take a few minutes to speak with her former mentor.

"Larry, this is Erica, one of my best students," Sasha introduced.

Larry recognized the name. "Oh. You're Sasha's favorite student, even though she's not supposed to have favorites."

Erica blushed, and Sasha defended herself with, "She's not a student anymore. I can play favorites if I want to."

"Thanks," Erica said shyly. Larry went back to speaking with the guys and left Erica and Sasha to discuss things amongst themselves. "I'm really glad you were able to beat me," Erica confessed. "I still have nightmares about being an agent of the Shadow Realm."

"They'll go away with time," Sasha assured her. "Everything worked out in the end, and no one was seriously hurt." Her expression changed to one of excitement. "More importantly, you never told me if you got the letter!"

Erica smiled. "I did. I got accepted into their education master's program. They've promised me an assistantship, although they haven't told me which, yet."

Sasha hummed for a moment. "What would you think about an adjunct teaching position? It won't make you rich, but it will cover your tuition and give you enough money to live off." Erica admitted she would appreciate the opportunity to teach even as an adjunct professor; it would be great experience and get her started teaching at a college level. Sasha put her arm around Erica and told her, "Come with me. I've got some people to introduce you to."

As Sasha spoke to her husband to tell him where she was going with Erica, Justin approached the now free Professor Baker and greeted him with a "Hey, Sarge."

"Hey, Nussbaum. Congratulations on graduating."

"Thanks," Justin said. "And thanks again for being better than me. I and everyone who doesn't duel as well as I do owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Part of my job to protect all my students. You look like you're doing better since then."

Justin nodded. "I'm doing pretty well." He put his hand on a younger kid nearby. This kid was shorter than Justin, didn't wear glasses, and kept his hair in a buzz cut, but he had the same skin and bone structure as Justin. Baker would have recognized the familial resemblance even without years of detective training. "I wanted to introduce you to my brother Josh, the one I told you about."

"Nice to meet you, Younger Nussbaum." Baker shook Josh's hand firmly. "You came out to see your older brother graduate?"

"Yeah," Josh admitted. "That duel earlier was really cool, too, but I kind of wish Justin was the one dueling. That would have been fun to see."

"I agree," Baker said. "Your brother is the toughest duelist I've ever seen. Are you going to follow his example and attend Duel Academy next year?"

"I've still got another year of high school," Josh pointed out. "I think I'd prefer going for a music degree. I play trombone in the high school's symphonic band and jazz ensemble, plus I'm getting pretty good on guitar. But I think I'll start doing local dueling tournaments again… just for fun, ya know?"

Baker nodded. "I understand. I'm sure the students will appreciate not having the extra competition of someone else from Justin's family." Josh thought that was amusing. Justin excused himself for just a moment, and so Baker decided to spend a few minutes speaking with Josh. "Tell me about your music. I used to play trumpet back when I was in high school. You ever try it?"

Justin wanted to make a quick stop to see Miyu. She was with Haruki and the rest of Team OTK, as usual. Justin wanted to speak to her earlier before the graduation ceremony, but he didn't get the chance, and now was as good a time as any. He started with a small bouquet of four daffodils.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"Just another apology," he explained. "I know we had a rough patch years ago when you first started dating Haruki, but that had nothing to do with our shadow incident. I know it might seem like I did that to you because I was angry, but I really was just under an outside influence. That whole experience is a pretty big blank to me."

Miyu smiled coyly, and so Haruki was the first to respond. "I know you didn't intend to hurt her. I know because you also tried to take down Sgt. Baker, who you always said was your favorite professor." He offered Justin a handshake as a sign that there were no hard feelings between them.

Justin accepted the handshake with a smile. "Thanks, man." He looked back to Miyu just as she stepped forward and gave him a hug.

"You're forgiven. Thanks for the flowers. I love daffodils."

"I remember." Justin looked around his old group and decided to catch up for a few minutes. "Have you decided who is going to take charge of the chapter in your absence?"

Haruki looked like a kid who knew the teacher was going to call on him. "Actually, I was just getting ready to inform Fusayo here that… I think Matt should take the lead." Fusayo's face was relatively expressionless for a guy who thought he was a shoe-in to lead Team OTK next year. "I know he's only a sophomore and he likes to act like a ten-year-old, but I think when given the responsibility, he'll turn out to be a pretty mature leader."

Across the room, Matt stood up and shouted, "What? When have you ever beaten me in a race?" He was yelling into Bryan's face and seemed very spirited in their argument.

Bryan was slightly calmer when he replied, "If you can remember, I do believe I beat you the last time we raced."

"Are you referring to junior year when I broke my leg and had to wear a cast around my knee for a week?"

"Oh, Matt. Some people might construe that as an advantage. The cast gave you perfect form whereas my legs kept bending, and sometimes my knees point to the side like a catcher or a really old cartoon character."

Matt pushed his chair under the table harshly. "Let's go, Elephant Memory. I'll race you right now… all the way around the island."

"You're on," Bryan said. As soon as he pushed his chair under the table, he looked behind Matt and said, "Kas? You want to start us off?"

Kasumi wasn't even on that side of the room; she and Cary were on the dance floor busting a move. As soon as Matt turned to look for Kas, Bryan took off running for the door, worming his way between all the other people who stood between him and the door. Matt's response as he started to follow was, "Oh, you _better_ cheat if you want to win!" Not even a moment later, he and Bryan were out the door and running toward the edge of the island.

Haruki huffed. "Then again, I've been wrong before."

"I think Matt will be an excellent leader," Fusayo said. This comment drew bewildered looks from everyone involved in the conversation. Fusayo is _okay_ with being passed over for a leadership position by a relative rookie? "He's almost as strong a duelist as you, and he's very smart. I think he'll be able to do a lot of good things with this group next year."

Miyu whispered to Haruki and Justin, "I can't tell if he's serious or just getting a jumpstart on sucking up to the new boss."

"Well," said Haruki, "at least he's right about one thing: Matt is a good duelist, and he'll be able to teach these guys plenty about one-turn-kill strategies."

----------

As soon as they were out the door, Bryan and Matt took a fast-paced, roundabout route to the grove where the deadnettle grow, each student bearing a spade. Underneath a tree on the edge of the grove, they dug their way beneath a heavy root. That's where they placed a box with nine cards locked inside. They quickly fill in the hole and covered it with sod, then snuck back into the party, accusing one another of cheating and cutting corners.

----------

Matt got back to the room late, but not late enough for Darius to be in bed yet. He sat at his desk with a single lamp on to help him read from a book of idiomatic phrases and sayings; apparently he spoke a few more misquotes at the party and felt the need to research his mistakes. He hadn't been to bed yet, meaning Matt might actually have the chance to see Darius's reaction to a prank for once. Matt sat down on the edge of the bed and tucked away his Duel Disk.

"You looking forward to going home?" asked Matt.

"Be it ever so faithful, there's no place like home."

Matt nodded hesitantly. "That's close enough." He stripped down to his shorts and climbed under the covers. "See you in the morning, bud."

Just as he moved his leg to get comfortable, Matt felt something rub up against him. He rolled over, figuring it was just the way the blanket hit his leg, but then he felt it again. He lifted the blanket and reached out.

Matt let out a frightened yelp as he realized he was rubbing up against a snake. He propelled himself backward into the headboard. Now that he bumped his head and jammed his neck, he was forced to slow down and notice the snake wasn't moving. He grabbed the rubber facsimile by the neck, recognized it as the one he skillfully planted earlier that day, sighed heavily, then tossed it on the floor and settled down again.

Darius smiled, pleased with himself. He had the last laugh.

* * *

_And there we are. I think I wrapped everything up well from this arc and left a very clear opening for a sequel._

_I need to take a short break before starting the next arc. Stuff has been piling up on me lately and occupying increasing amounts of my time, and so writing two stories simultaneously has gotten harder. I expect to post it in two weeks or so. If you check the site each day or subscribe to me as an author, you should know as soon as I post: "For Love & the Game." I hope to have a fairly regular posting schedule once I finally begin._

_Is there anything any of you would like to see me do differently in the next story? I'm going to take maybe two steps back from real life social dynamics in order to add more humor, but there may be ways I can improve that I haven't thought of yet. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story and I hope to hear from you all when I begin the next one.  
_

_Credits:  
Darius....tiramisu19  
Everyone else so far....YamiRuss_


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